Difficult Relationships
by Laserbeak7007
Summary: Terrorsaur meets his dream girl. The problem is she's a Maximal! Meanwhile Dinobot's past and a dark secret Rattrap harbors may prove fatal for them both. First in a series. Fluff warning. This is OLD, written back in 2001. Posting it for nostagic reasons
1. And Then There Were Two

**Difficult Relationships PART 1 OF 7**

**by Laserbeak**

_There is a time when man needs somebody to talk to,_

_Someone to talk to, somebody who'll always be there,_

_All alone,_

_Nothing seems to matter,_

_So alone,_

_Doesn't get much better,_

_Can't explain,_

_Something that your feeling,_

_For the very first time._

_There was a time when you needed someone to_

_hold on to,_

_Someone to hold you,_

_Somebody who's always sincere,_

_All alone,_

_Suddenly you see her,_

_So alone,_

_No, you can't believe her,_

_Can't explain,_

_Something that you're feeling,_

_For the very first time._

_Then along comes a woman,_

_There's a change in the way that you're feelin' tonight,_

_Then along comes a woman,_

_And you know that it's right._

_____ copyrighted by Chicago_

_***_

A colony of stasis pods floated among the stars, unborn warriors. Suddenly one was sucked into the Earth's atmosphere and plummeted towards the planet, the dormant Maximal remaining unaware of her future and the challenges she would face. What awaits her, life or death?

Predacon Base, day...

Monitor duty! What in the Pit could possibly be as boring as sitting in front of a map grid for several megacycles watching for Maximal energy signatures? Fortunately as far as Pred technology went, the _Darkside_ had it all, including killer surround sound!

Terrorsaur turned the volume control to **MAX **as he reclined in one of the command chairs, propping his taloned heels on the console. The nearly auditory disabling tunes of _Toxic Matter _blared through the ship's 7000 amp. speakers. He wouldn't have dared to pull this stunt when the others were hanging around. Nobody else cared for his taste in music (He only listened to Cybertronian bands that were rated the loudest and wildest), but he didn't really care. They had no taste. They were all at least a century old, well, maybe Waspinator and Scorponok weren't, but still, with an old fossil like Megatron in charge who could have any fun around this place?

He yawned and slouched in the hover seat, mouthing the lyrics, although most were screams or odd sounds he couldn't phantom how to make.

Boriiiiing! ~If I were leader things would be a lot more exciting around here. And we wouldn't be worrying about a handful of do-gooder Maxies.~

Just then the console's main screen lit up and the computer's alarm went off. Terrorsaur sat up so fast he nearly fell out of his chair.

_"UNNATURAL OBJECT APPROACHING ORBIT."_

"Identify," he snapped, his normally shrill voice even more so with sheer eagerness.

_"OBJECT IDENTIFIED AS MAXIMAL STASIS POD."_

His grin widened."closest estimate of landing coordinates?"

_"COORIDINATES 4,4,12. GRID SIGMA,"_ the computer drawled in it's monotonous voice.

"My personal fav hunting grounds!" the pterodactyl boasted, smirking in pleasant surprise. And the others were all attacking the Maximal base! Which left the pod totally to him! He could reprogram it as a Predacon loyal only to him, a bot to follow him in his rebellion against Megatron. Finally he would have his own lieutenant!

"Beast Mode," he chuckled with mischievous glee, transforming to his namesake and jetting out of the _Darkside_ at top speed.

The silvery pod lay in a dusty canyon among a pile of shattered rocks, gleaming in the late afternoon sun. The protoform inside lay motionless, unaware of her surroundings and of the future ahead of her as she rested in blissful unconsciousness.

Squawking to himself, Terrorsaur touched down next to the pod, returning to robot mode. The area was rich with energon. He'd have to work fast to save the new Predacon before it's spark was extinguished or he was forced to revert to beast mode.

As he stepped up to the pod's console momentary doubt gripped him. Computers were his specialty but he'd never actually reprogrammed an actual protoform before. What if he screwed up and it blasted his head off or scanned it's beast mode wrong and came out half sardine, half worm or something?

The bot shimmered in it's comatose, untainted by life, pure and characterless. He wondered what it would be like, male or female? Hopefully _not _another Blackarachnia or Inferno. The ant-bot was a looney, always spouting his "Defend the Royalty" slag. And the she-spider, she was competition for leadership of the Predacons and _that _he could do without more of.

After typing in what he hoped was were the right codes a Maximal behavior chip was ejected. He sighed in relief and pulled the chip free crushing it . Luck was with him. It wouldn't be another incident like Airazor at least. Just thinking about that chick shorted his circuits! That hot-shot fem-flyer had caused him more pain than all the other Maxies combined. He'd relish the day he could stomp out her spark. Personally. A bloody grin appeared on his face as he imagined pointing his blaster at her head and caving it in with one shot.

~That would teach her to mess with me! Blasted woman. Why do all the females on this planet have to be witches? What I'd give for just one attractive, halfway decent tempered femme...~

He shook the thought off, fishing around inside his wrist compartment until he found the green Predacon behavior chip, the yellow bug-like symbol on it glinting. He inserted the it into the console and waited for a confirming click to announce it's acceptance.

_"REPROGRAMMING NOT ACCEPTIBLE. PROTOFORM SCANNING FOR BEAST MODE."_

"Slag!" he snapped, typing hurriedly as he tried to intervene before the protoform became a Maximal. Then the computer's voice stopped him cold.

_"NO COMPATIBLE LIFEFORMS IN RANGE."_

_***_

The Predacon attack had broken off a few cycles ago, but Optimus Primal had no intention of heading back to base just yet.

Rhinox had given him the location of a falling stasis pod and he had to get to it before Megatron did. He couldn't allow another of his fellow Maximals to be unwillingly turned to the ways of evil. Bad enough they'd lost Blackarachnia and Inferno. Optimus didn't blame the two for their actions. Protoforms were governed by programming just as any newborn spark was. Which made it all the more urgent to get there soon.

One thing that Optimus would later learn was that while a protoform was indeed _influenced _by it's programming a bot's choices were it's own. There could be an evil Maximal just as there could be a good Predacon. Dinobot was proof enough of that, was he not? After all, he had always been a Pred, but one of honor and dignity. He would no more strike down a lesser opponent than he would have shot himself in the foot. That was one of the things Optimus respected most about Dinobot. He might not have been quite so proud of his greatest warrior if he could have seen him at that cycle.

The halls of the _Axalon_ rang with insults.

"Cheeze-Breath!"

"Snake-Tongue!"

"Flea-Factory!"

"Scale-Belly!"

"You sniveling little Paramecium!!!"

"I know you are, but what am I?"

"Oh will you two GROW UP!" Airazor snapped turning to face the bickering Rattrap and Dinobot. She and Tigatron were visiting the Maximal base, but already she longed for the peace of the wilderness. All she'd heard for the past megacycle was childish name-calling being shouted throughout the ship. In unison they turned to the female and pointed at one another.

"HE STARTED IT!"

She rolled her green optics in frustration. It was true what they said: women never admitted their age but men never acted it .The love/hate relationship the rat and the raptor shared was usually amusing but right now it was just annoying. And it had started again.

"You stinking, plague infested pest!"

"Oh yeah? Well I'm rubber, yer glue. What ever ya say bounces of me and sticks ta you!"

"I refuse to listen to your immature prattle any more ,Vermin. I am retiring to my quarters, you Trash Consuming Bacterium."

"Trash Consuming Bacterium,"the rodent repeated, mirth shining in his black eyes.

Dinobot glared at him as he realized what the rat's new approach was. "Don't even think it, Vermin," he hissed.

"Don't even think it, Vermin," Rattrap smirked back.

"Stop that!"

"Stop that!"

"Why, I should.."

"Why, I should.."

Dinobot seethed in rage, then a crafty gleam entered his slit-pupiled eyes and he sneered smugly,"Rattrap is an idiot."

"Rattrap is an idiot. Hey! Why, you slaggin'..!"

But Dinobot was already slinking did the hall to his room, his low chuckles trailing behind him. Rattrap scowled in anger at being tricked. He hated it when the lizard got the better of him, but there was always next time.

"You two are really something," Airazor commented,"If I didn't know better I'd think you were life-long enemies instead of best friends."

"Best FRIENDS?! What the heck er you talkin' about, Bird-Lady?"

She blinked in surprise. She had expected for him to deny it, but not so hostilely. The rat acted like she'd just directed some tremendous insult towards his mother.

Rattrap himself was shocked. _Him?_ Friends with a _Pred?_NO way! No slaggin' way. A voice from his past whispered like a ghost,~Once a Pred, always a Pred.~

~Throttle..~

Rage suddenly clouded his mind and he whirled on the female, eyes flashing,"Let's get this straight, Sister. I ain't no friend ta no _slaggin' Pred_, got it?" He stalked out the control room, leaving a very startled Airazor to ponder over what had happened.

***

_"NO COMPATIBLE LIFEFORMS IN RANGE,"_ reported the pod's computer in a dull tone. Terrorsaur felt his spark sink in it's cavity. If the pod couldn't find a beast mode for it's occupant the protoform would surely die and soon. He was now faced with a greater delima. He couldn't get the pod back to base alone and if he did save it it would only be a maudlin Maximal. Still, something seemed...wrong about letting this life die, this life which had never had a chance to be.

Cursing himself for his own weakness, he made a split decision and typed in an override code, ordering the pod's scanner to overlook his mechnical half and reverted to beast mode. The pod emitted a green force field that passed over him as it searched for lifeforms once more.

_"FORM SELECTED."_

The pod hissed as it cracked open and a flapping noise reached his auditory sensors as the new warrior emerged, perching on it's edge as the smoke cleared.

Terrorsaur nearly choked. Never in his life had he seen anything so utterly beautiful. The bot was a slender lavender female of his own species!Bright red tiger stripes high-lighted her chest, back and forehead. She was smaller than him, not quite Waspinator's size but a bit larger than the rodent Maximal, Rattrap. She stretched a pair of deep violet wings and squawked to him in greeting, her brilliant green eyes flashing and full of intelligence.

"I am Laserbeak, aerial attack expert. Who are you?"

"Terrorsaur. I gave you your beast mode," he stated quickly, eager to impress her, forgetting instantly they were on opposing sides. His eyes rapidly absorbed her streamlined, slick form. By the Inferno, she was amazing!

"Then I owe you my life,"she replied, smiling.

"It was nothing," he said in sudden, very un-Terrorsaur-like modesty, his fluid pump hammering in his chest. "I mean, nothing short of spectacular," he added, his usual ego taking over. He was after all, the future leader of the Predacons.(In his opinion, anyway.)

Suddenly a voice rang out,"Optimus Primal, MAXIMIZE!"

"Slag it!," he hissed, spinning to face the Maximal commander and gulped when he found himself looking up the business end of a wrist mounted blaster.

Optimus had been more than a bit concerned when he'd seen the stasis pod fall. When he reached the landing site and found Terrorsaur there ahead of him and the pod empty that concern turned to anger and alarm.

"Where is the protoform?" he demanded coldly.

Terrorsaur gave a strangled squeak of fear, but before he could answer there was a _whoosh _and a high-pitched screech, then Optimus was looking down a two foot long beak into a pair of fierce green eyes set in a spear-shaped face. Another pterodactyl! The lavender she-dactyl openned her beak, revealing rows of needle-like teeth. She hissed loudly flapping her leathery wings.

Terrorsaur gaped in surprise. She was protecting him! She risked a quick glance at him and snapped,"Go, I'll hold him."

Never one to argue with a way out of getting blasted, Terrorsaur beat a hasty retreat. He hoped Optimus would realize she was a Maximal, but he could do no more for her and he had to look out his own spark.

Optimus and Laserbeak eyed each other uneasily, neither willing to take the first shot. As she scrutinized her opponent, Laser abruptly noticed the red fox-like symbol on his armor and all of the defiance went out of her stance.

"You are...a Maximal?"

"I'm Optimus Primal, the Maximal Commander of this planet," he agreed, seeing she too displayed the Maximal insignia.

"But..the other of my kind.."she stammered in confusion.

"Was a Predacon," he finished for her.

"He helped me," she said softly, shaking her didn't understand any of this. Where she was, who or what she was. Why would a Predacon save her if she was a Maximal?

"That puzzles me as well. But we can worry about that later. The base is a long way off and the others will be eager to meet you."

She nodded slowly, following him as they rose above the jungle. This would take some getting used to.

***

"I don't like it, Boss Monkey, not one bit," Rattrap grumbled, watching Laserbeak with skeptical eyes as she conversed with Cheetor and Tigatron.

"For once, I agree with the Vermin," Dinobot growled,"You should at least have Rhinox verify her programming. She could be a clone or a Predacon spy." He hissed the last word, drawing out the "S" on _spy._

Optimus frowned,"Why are you two so intent on finding some fault with her?"

"Fearless Leader, just look at her! She's a femme leather-puss. She practically screams lousy, schemin', no-good Pred...like someone else in da close proximity."

"Watch it, Vermin, or she will not be the only one screaming!" Dinobot snarled, snapping his teeth near the rodent's throat.

"Oh yeah? I'd like ta see ya try, Lizard-Butt."

"Is that a challenge, Cheeze-Lips?"

Optimus sighed and shook his head. Even though the arguments between rat and the Velociraptor were entertaining they grew tiresome after awhile. He left the two to their dispute and turned back to the problem at hand. Laserbeak. Even then he knew she would cause several conflicts in the future, but he couldn't begin to phantom the changes that would soon be set in motion.

***

Terrorsaur reclined lazily on his bunk. He'd just gotten out of the CR chanber after _reporting _to Megatron. Reporting was a term he preferred to use as opposed to saying he'd showered the Predacon leader with a very elaborate list of excuses for deserting his post, which still hadn't saved him from a sound thrashing. Still, it had been worth it, just to meet _her._

"Laserbeak," he said aloud, letting the name roll off his metallic tongue. He liked the taste of it and the ring of it in his audio sensors. He could have never imagined anything so beautiful.

Being a Predacon, and a rather violence-prone one at that, Terrorsaur had no way of knowing he was smitten. If his roommate and fellow flier, Waspinator, had been there he would also have been confused by the pterodactyl's lovesick face and glassy optics. Inferno, Scorponok, Tarantulas, and Blackarachnia would have laughed until they blew a gasket. Megatron would have had a fluid pump attack. Meanwhile, Terrorsaur himself was baffled. He had never cared about anyone before, and Laserbeak WAS a Maximal. He sighed. He needed to think about this awhile, sleep on it maybe.

***

_Have you ever, had someone_

_Steal your heart away?_

_You'd give anything to make them_

_Feel the same__Brandy. Have You Ever_

______________________________________________________________________

**Author's Note:**Well, so begins my story. Laserbeak's name and beast mode design are taken from the repaint action figure of Terrorsaur. I changed her sex and character for the story, encase I confused you. Part 2 is coming soon and it will have a bit more action. I hope you like it so E-mail me to tell me what you think at . 2001

**Author's Note Updated: This is so OLD!!! Oh My Sweet Primus, so old and so bad but cute. It's part of my history so I had to repost it. Apologize and I know I'm gonna get Mary-Sue commented to death, which I understand, but I reposted this for the sake of nostagia. This is the first series I ever wrote. If you'd like to see a MUCH better version check out Onyxfang and look up "ReWritten In the Stars". In the mean time, if you enjoy fluff, read the rest of this fic and the ones in the series and let me know what you think, huh? pretty please with sugar on top? (defends the sugar from Waspinator) Does anyone else remember an incident back on talon's BWTF board where waspinator was last seen chasing down a sugar truck down the freeway covered in toilet paper for some reason? That still makes me laugh, the mental image. Ah, memories! On with the fluffy romance! 2009**


	2. Infatuation

**Difficult Relationships 2 of 7**

**by Laserbeak**

*******

Laserbeak sat at her desktop, her long, slender fingers taping the table in an rhythmic pattern. She couldn't think. Her mind kept returning to Terrorsaur. High-pitch voiced, arrogant...enticing Terrorsaur.

She typed in a code to access Sentinel's files on the Predacon forces: _Find files marked as Predacon unit Terrorsaur._

"_Searching.."_ The Maximal computer replied,"_One file found __Predacon unit Terrorsaur__."_A hologram of the red and silver flyer appeared, revolving as data scrolled across the screen. She scanned it quickly, afraid someone might catch her and start asking uncomfortable questions.

_Name:Terrorsaur_

_Faction: Predacons_

_Rank: Aerial combat and recon expert._

_Gender: Male_

_Beast Mode: Pterodactyl_

_Personality: Scheming, tricky,devious,wily,mischievous,cunning,hostile, bloodthirsty,cowardly, and clever._

_Background: Hired by Megatron as a mercenary. Known for treachery and skill with computers. Prefers to fight while air-born, but is likely to flee if the odds turn against him. His greatest weakness, besides his own cowardice, is his arrogance. Believes himself to be the true leader of the Predacons. Has overthrown current leader, Megatron, twice with unsuccessful results._

_Preferred Weapon(s): Hand held blaster, missile launcher, and shoulder cannons._

The she-dactyl scowled in disappointment as the information ended there. She had been hoping to learn so much more about her rescuer. Apparently the Maximal didn't think it was important to keep detailed records on their enemies. She stared at the hologram, running one finger along it gently. He was strongly built, muscular in the arms, legs and chest. His coloring was nice too, sleek, shining silver combined with bright red like organic blood. The white face plate was a good finishing touch to the effect.

She sighed, her eyes adopting a dreamy By-Primus-He's-Handsome look as she studied his exostructure, memorizing every detail, but what caught her more than anything else was his eyes. They were alive with mischief and rebellion, further emphasizing the description in the report. Shimmering crimson like burning embers in the darkness. Her reaction was the first in many thoughts that would soon build a barrier between her and her fellow Maximals.

~I bet that bot knows how to impress others. He probably doesn't put up with everyone always watching him like he's a virus waiting to strike.~ She sighed deeply. She was an outsider among her own people, destined to be scrutinized for the rest of her life...

"Hey, Lase! How you getting settled in?" Cheetor asked as the young cat-bot dashed in. She quickly typed in a "save and hide" command before turning to the eager teenager so sharply she almost spun out of her chair.

"Fine, thank you, Cheetor."

The kid was cute to begin with, but his constant chatter and energy got tiresome really fast. Like in a nano-click.

~I wonder if Predacons have to put up with this.~

"You sure?" He glanced around her quarters."Looks a bit bare to me. I have some extra posters I could put up, really prime stuff. Killer bands, the Cybertropolace Amusement Park..anyway, cool posters. Super bright, they'll light up this place in no time. Just ask Dinobot and Rattrap. I decorated their rooms. Of course, now they won't let me back in there..."

"Knock yourself out, Cheetor," she cut him off in annoyance.

His eyes shot wide with amazement,"Really? No way! Prime, I'll be right back." He was gone in a blur of gold and black.

She shook her head, glancing at the fox-like insignia glowing on her left upper arm that marked her as a Maximal. What a pain. She'd only been aboard the _Axalon _five megacycles and already she was wishing she could join Tigatron and Airazor on patrol. All this tightly enclosed, peace-loving, non-violent Maximal atmosphere was corrupting her battle instincts. She needed advice, she needed someone to understand her, but who? The answer came in a flash. Dinobot! He was a warrior. He would understand her restlessness.

On the way out she bumped into Cheetor who was buried beneath a moutain of rolled up posters and print outs.

"Go ahead and wallpaper the place, but try to do me two favors. #1. No fuzzy animals, they give me the creeps or make me hungry. #2. Try to keep it appropriate. Nothing frilly or sissy, but nothing obscene or stupid,'kay?"

He winked at her."You got it, Dactyl-babe. Nothing fuzzy, frilly, freaky or funky. No problemo."

She groaned,"I know I'm gonna regret this. Oh, and Cheetor, don't touch the computer. It's private."

Laserbeak felt a growing sense of hesitation as she neared Dinobot's door. She hadn't spoken much to the ex-Predacon, but she knew he didn't like to be disturbed. Still, she had to talk to someone. She knocked lightly on the door.

"If that is the Vermin, you can go burglarize cheeze from Megatron for all I care before I allow your stench in my quarters!"

She smirked in spite of herself. ~I could get to like this guy,~ she mused, replying aloud,"It's not Rattrap, it's me, Laserbeak. Can I come in, Dinobot? I have something of importance to discuss..."

The door opened sharply and she found herself beak to snout with the fierce looking Velociraptor. He didn't seem happy to see her.

.."with you," she finished quietly, tensing under his hard, green gaze.

"Enter, but touch nothing," he snarled gruffly.

She nodded slowly, entering the bare room. It was spotless, displaying a warrior's discipline and rigidness. Two weapon racks, one holding a variety of guns, the other swords, hung on the far wall near a pelt identical to that of Dinobot's beast mode. There were signs that someone had once hung posters or decorations up, but she guessed they had been short lived. His bed was a cold steel bunk like her own and there was a desk and computer(which she doubted got much use), but the room was otherwise devoid of embellishment. She sensed she had found a kindred spirit.

"Nice. Much like my own, but Cheetor will probably have that changed by the time I get back."

A faint smile twitched at his lips."The Feline has a habit of sticking his nose where it does not belong. You'll get used to it...or kill him. I have considered the second before."

She laughed softly."Mind if I sit?"

His eyes narrowed cynically but after a cycle he nodded.

She sat in the chair in front of his desk, realizing he was now taller than her in beast mode while she was sitting in robot mode. Somehow it seemed fitting. She admired his raptorian form, thinking how eerily it suited his personality: sleek, lethal, vicious, intelligent, noble, and oddly graceful. Almost attractive.

"The others don't trust me much,do they?"

"Trust must be earned over time," he growled,"If I were you, I would not waste my time concerning myself with what others think. Better to keep ones mind focused on the approaching battles."

She scowled at the floor in frustration, then a deep curiosity replaced the feeling of discouragement. "Was it like this in the Predacon base?"

He stiffened in cold surprise, but quickly masked the expression with one of indifference."How did you know?"

"Cheetor told me. The kid blabs half his hard-drive info in two cycles, including his life story and everyone else's. One simply has to know how to sort out what is useful from what is not."

He nodded in appreciation of her intellect."So now you see me as a former Predacon like everyone else."

"No. I don't judge people. That way, perhaps, they won't judge me."

Dinobot smirked,"For being created by one of the most devious Predacons alive you certainly are naive."

She began to protest but closed her mouth after a cycle. Maybe she was naive. She had, after all,defended an enemy fighter from her commanding officer, then probably violated some law by looking up his classified file, now she was here talking to a former Pred of all people! It certainly didn't imply much of a heroic Maximal image.

~Maybe I should have been a Predacon afterall. I'd probably fit in better.~

"You are a replica of Terrorsaur as far as most of the Maximals are concerned and will continue to be so in their eyes until you prove yourself to be otherwise. Be careful because you are being judged."

"By you or just everyone else?"she asked evenly, feeling some pleasure at being classified with the handsome male dactyl. She knew this sudden rush of emotion was irrational since she didn't even know the bot and he _was _an opponent. Later this feeling would deepen and not seem mysterious in the least, but she was currently puzzled by it and pushed it away.

"Everyone," he snarled, then looked sensed that was her cue to leave and stood, nodding her thanks.

Dinobot sat alone in his quarters for several megacycles afterward, contemplating several issues. The young female dactyl made him decidedly uncomfortable, not only because she reminded him of his former Predacon comrade, but the look in her eyes. That unsettled him the most. Those eyes. They were glistening green like purest energon and brooding, always appearing to be conceiving some clever plot. Much like a Predacon. In fact, exactly like a Predacon. That startled him, for if a Maximal could seem like a Predacon, then a Predacon could truly become a Maximal. Was that what was happening to him? Had he completely forsaken his heritage for these sentimentally overided automatons?

~No. I am still the bot I have always been.~ he convinced himself.~Neither Predacon nor Maximal, but a combination of both. And of that I am proud. I am a warrior of the highest degree, born and raised on war. Despite what others believe.~

The last thought was referring to Rattrap. Dinobot and the rodent had always hated one another from the first, but other time it had became an odd (and this is stretching the word to all possible bounds) friendship. They traded insults, jeers and other rude comments for amusement, rarely taking the ether's seriously any more. But lately things had gotten tense between them again.

Dinobot, of course, couldn't be expected to understand what was going on in Rattrap's would only worsen during the next few months, for soon Dinobot would be forced to make a decision, one that would affect them both greatly.

***

Several weeks passed. Things didn't improve much for the she-dactyl, nor between the rat and the raptor.

Laserbeak grew more and more restless over time, requesting to be put on solo patrol as often as, and Optimus,while confused by the female's reclusive behavior, agreed. It seemed as if Dinobot's cold attitude had somehow been partially transferred into her, and in a way it had. She had officially taken his place as the outcast of the group, or at least it felt so to her.

Laserbeak soared through the air, feeling the thermals lift her as they rustled against the leathery flaps of her was a grand release for her. She didn't get along well with her new Maximal comrades. Optimus Primal was a capable leader, but slightly uneasy around her, no doubt because of her beast mode and origin. The cat-embodied constant bundle of energy, Cheetor,was an annoyance, as were the benevolent Airazor, Rhinox, and Tigatron. She could get into nature as much as the next bot, but not 24 megacycles a solar cycle! She needed action and had a thrist for battle, something that she occasionally wonder if it was just her personality or perhaps she had absorbed some of Terrorsaur for Dinobot and Rattrap, those two didn't trust her in the least.

Suddenly an ear-piercing screech caught her attention and drew it to a massive eagle gracefully gliding below her. Her stomach growled and she allowed herself a soft, mildly evil chuckle, diving low, talons ready. She should have felt guilty devouring a creature so close to the beast mode of a comrade, but a girl had to eat. She closed the distance between herself and her prey quickly, only to be startled out of her concentration as a hunting cry almost identical to her own cut through the air.

Too late the two reptiles saw what was happening and when the eagle veered up the pterodactyls had the same thought the moment before they collided:Oh _SLAG!!_

Shrieking, they tumbled from the sky. Laserbeak flapped wildly to slow her decent, sighing in relief as the wind lifted her back into the air. She glanced around warily but saw no sight of Terrorsaur. Fear shot through her system. What if he hadn't been as lucky as she? Even a Pred didn't deserve to die like that.

She circled once, then dove down among the tree tops, searching for him. Without warning, in a flash red he was there, directly in front of her. She squawked in surprise, eyeing him distrustfully. He was her enemy. But then, he was also her savior as well. She was confused. Apparently the feeling was mutual because neither gave their battle cries or showed any sign of attacking.

"Are you alright?" he asked at length.

She nodded in shock."You?"

"Besides missing a snack, I'm no worse off," he replied, shrugging lean, muscular shoulders as he flapped his wings occasionally to keep himself hovering. Silence. A tense one.

"I don't want to fight you,"she started bluntly at last,"You're my nemisis, but you're..."

"The only one like me," he finished for her, his beady green eyes dancing with excitement."You understand."

She nodded again, her own eyes coming to life. At last someone to relate to! "Is there somewhere we can talk? Neutral ground?"she persisted, disturbed by the urgency that had crept into her voice. But she was so close to the answers she sought.

His expression was rather cynical but that evaporated after instantly as he replied,"Some place away from Maximal and Predacon scanners. Yeah, I know a place where the enegon interference is too strong for them to detect us...and we do need to talk. Follow me."

He surprised her more than a bit by ducking inside a crack in a cliffwall. They were in Grid Sigma, the place of her birth. She felt a shudder of excitement pass through her as she followed him into the crevice. It was like coming home.

They flew through a maze of enegon weaving up into the mountains and finally landed in the heart of a huge opening like a cavern. Terrorsaur smirked a he leaned against an outcropping of rock and gestured around him."My hideout. I come here sometimes when I'm supposed to be on patrol."

"To do what?"

He scrunched up his beak and replied,"To think."

"About Cybertron?" she asked eagerly, eyes alight,"Tell me, Terrorsaur! Please, _please _tell me. I can't remember anything about my home. My memory was partially erased when I was put into stasis lock. But you remember everything!"

He couldn't help but chuckle at the look of hope and excitement on her face, like a sparkling. "I don't remember _that _much. The Predacons weren't on your side of Cybertron that long before I sighed up with Megatron to steal the Golden Disk. It was sorta peaceful before that, quiet, boring. Lots of Maximals." His voice trailed off in thought.

"Why did you join Megatron?"

He shrugged."I liked what he was advertising, power, prestige, action. Besides," he sighed, his green gaze sorrowful,"I had nothing to lose."

"What about your family?"

"Don't have one. Never have."

"Friends? _Girlfriend?_" she persisted, surprising herself with the hope in her heart. She was hoping with all her being he didn't have one.

He snorted a laugh,"What femme in her right mind would go out with me?" This was one of those weird moments his ego wasn't present and he spoke truthfully.

She took a deep breath and whispered,"I would."

He turned to her in amazement,"W..what?"

She smiled softly, flushing from her own forwardness. By Primus, he was unlike any male she'd ever known or at least recalled. "I would have gone out with you if we were back on Cybertron and you ask me. I think you're Prime. You're honest, or pretty much for a Pred, you speak your mind, you don't care what out people think. In fact..I'd be honored if you'd consider me your friend."

"Preds don't have friends, Laserbeak. And even if we did we can't be friends with Maximals. We're at war here remember?"

"Well, you can take that attitude if you want, but I still consider you to be my best friend. Wouldn't be hard to reach that rank. I don't have any others."

"I thought Maxies were all comradeship and trust and junk."

"They..we are,"she mumbled, not looking at him,"But.."

"You don't feel like you fit in," he finished for her.

She shook her head at met his gaze sadly. "Not really. It's my beast mode. It makes them all jumpy because it's not mammalian or noble like the rest of them. But I wouldn't change it even if I could."

"You...you wouldn't," he stuttered. "You really like my..our..your beast mode?"

"I like where it came from," she replied smiling up at him. His fluid pump fluttered in his chest. She was the most lovely creature in the universe as far as he was concerned.

"You saved my life, Terror. I think you're the most amazingly brave bot I know, and the greatest Pred ever."

Every circuit in his exostructure sang with joy. At last someone recognized his greatness, and to top it off she was the most spectacular female he'd ever encountered!

"You're the only one who's ever said that."

"I meant every word."

His eyes shone with adoration. Flattery was the way to Terrosaur's heart if anything was. He puffed out his narrow chest with pride. "Well then, I guess I could at least give you the honor of calling you my friend,"he stated smugly. To his shock she wrapped her wings around him and hugged him. He lifted his wings but couldn't bring himself to hug her back. That was soooo Maximal mushy. His face flushed a deeper crimson than it already was. This was totally unPredacon like but....awww, what the heck. He let his wings fall and hugged her back tenderly.

***

"You sure you can't make it out tonight?" Laserbeak asked disappointedly as she stared into the face of her comlink. She and Terrorsaur had been meeting secretly for the past three weeks, usually at his cave, but sometimes nearer to his base or hers.

But tonight was his shift at monitor was taking a break, the spiders and the locust were in there labs, Waspinator and Scorponok were on patrol and Inferno was stationed at the ship's com system. He hated not being able to see her but what's a Pred to do?

"Sorry, L.B. I can't tomorrow for sure though."

"Alright. Miss you. Bye Terror."

"See ya, Laser."

She sighed and shut down her com. This was going to be a long 24 megacycles. She wanted to be with Terrorsaur, but he couldn't desert his post. Maybe he wouldn't have to. A slightly cunning, unMaximal smile tugged at her Terrorsaur couldn't come out maybe she'd just have to pay the Pred base a visit.

***

**Author's Note: I warned you there would be mush! I'm horribly reminded of Wayward's artwork featuring Terrorsaur stating "Attention Femme Fans: I am NOT your Bish." Well you couldn't tell it the way I used to write. They became infatuated with each other far too easily, btu then I have always believed in love at first sight. let me know what you think and review, PLEAAAAAASE? Or I'll sick Cheetor on you!!**


	3. Loyalties Shattered

**Difficult Relationships 3 of 7**

**by Laserbeak**

*******

Terrorsaur was in a pretty dull mood after he cut the connection with Laser. He was also bored. Why should he be stuck here when he and she could be off having such a great time together? Cycles passed like megacycles.

Then without warning the _Darkside's _alarm system went off.

_"MAXIMAL SIGNATURE DETECTED. AUTOGUNS ON."_

"An invader comes from the air!" Inferno cheered."I will go and defend the colony!"

Normally the pterodactyl wouldn't have cared less if the zealot ant-bot wanted to go and slag any Maximal dumb enough to stumble into Predacon air space but this time he had a very bad feeling about it.

"Waylay that, Inferno. The scanners aren't showing anything. Must be a malfunction," he lied, staring at the blinking Maximal insignia on the screen and attempting to block it from the other's view.

The ant was confused. "But the computer said.."

"It must be a glitch. Give me a second to verify it," Terror insisted, swiftly typing in a command: Identify Maximal unit, no vocal response. A cycle later the reply came: Unit identified as Maximal Unit Laserbeak. He typed in another command, fear making his hands shake as his silver fingers raced across the keyboard: Ignore signature and deactivate defences.

_"_ACKNOWLEDGED," the computer replied.

"See," he laughed weakly in a not very convincing voice as the autoguns ceased fire. "Just a glitch."

Inferno looked uncertain but as the Maximal signature was no longer being detected and Terrorsaur _did _know much more about computers than him, he didn't bother to argue."Then I shall return to my post."

Terrorsaur stumbled up out of his seat, trying not to look nervous and failing miserably as he added,"I'm, um, gonna go c..check the autoguns, see if I can find the problem."

Inferno watched him go, then shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder about that drone," he muttered.

"Are you **CRAZY**?!?!" shrieked Terrorsaur as he hovered in front of Laserbeak in beast mode outside the Predacon base.

One of her wings had been scorched before he'd cut off the autoguns and she was having some difficulty staying in the air. He moved to support her as she faltered a bit.

"Just wanted to see you," she mumbled sheepishly, close to tears.

"I wanted to see you too, but you can't come here. What if it had been anyone but me and Inferno here? What if I hadn't been able to detour the ant from coming out here? It's too dangerous!"

The she-dactyl bowed her head in shame, and Terrorsaur felt the guilt sink in for yelling at her. He didn't like being the responsible one. It wasn't his style and it made him feel like a total jerk, which, admittedly, he usually was and did not give a stone's throw in the Pit, but with Laserbeak it was...different, somehow. His tone softened and he held her up more gently.

"Look, you can't get back to the _Axalon_ in this shape. Come in and I get you fixed up, but then you gotta get out of here,'kay?"

She smiled softly and two dactyls descended to the _Darkside _and entered after a minor delay with the ship's scanner access codes. Luckily Terrorsaur was a whiz with computer and bypassing codes was one his all time favorite hobbies (among them sending virus joke mail and strifing defenseless animals from the air).

Ten cycles later he'd located a first aid kit and was patching her up to the best of his abilities in his quarters, as it was too risky to take her to the CR-chamber and have someone discover her.

The burn was second degree at most but wires were showing, the synthetic skin around was blistering, shiny in appearance, and she winced painfully when he touched it, despite his attempts to be careful. Some of the membrane was badly scalded. He cleansed it and wrapped it loosely, stepping back to admire his work."That should work but you better transform to make sure it's not too tight."

She nodded and snapped,"Laserbeak, MAXIMIZE!" Her transformation was remarkably similar to his own, wings folding onto her arms, tail region folding forward to form a chest plate, beast head flipping onto her back. But there were also obvious differences. Her chest region shifted to form a curvaceous feminine figure and her coloring was black and lavender with red stripes on her chest and thighs. Having never gotten a good look at her robot mode, Terrorsaur was startled. She wasn't really tall, a few centimeters shorter than he, slim, and her figure almost rivaled than of Blackarachnia! Her flawless face plate was the same soft powdery lavender as the flesh of her beast mode, her optics, an exotic emerald green, were accentuated by high cheek bones and delicate, slightly pouty lips.

Terrorsaur suddenly became aware he'd forgotten to breathe, a rather critical habit when one is half organic.

Laserbeak sensed him gawking at her and shifted uncomfortably."What?"

"Nothing," he stammered,"I... just never realized you were so..and, well, you just look, um, WOW." he managed at last.

If she blushed, organic blood rushing to her face,"You're just saying that."

"No,no,no. I mean, uh, do you want to sit down?" he asked quickly, gesturing to his bunk, fluid pump pounding. If he had thought his companion beautiful before, words could no longer describe how he saw her now.

She sat gracefully on the lower bunk, crossing her legs at the knees in a very proper, ladylike pose. Never taking his optics off her, he began to sit too, in the only chair in the room. Unfortunately he missed it by a couple if inches and fell flat on his silver skid plates. His cheeks flushed nearly the same color as his helmet as he scrambled up.

She stifled a giggle as he sat again, this time where he was supposed to. "Are you hurt?"

"Just my pride," he responded, grinning embarassedly.

She smiled and reached out to take his hand tenderly in her own, glancing around the room. Most of the posters were violent war images or adds for weapon and explosive, but there were a few that seemed out of place in their placid, scenic nature amid variationd of flags of the ancient Decepticons.

"Those are Waspi's. He's my roommate. Has a total fascination with the Decepticons for some reason." He shrugged.

"Predacons share rooms?"

"Sure. Don't Maximals?"

"Not really. We're all too different. Dinobot values his privacy. Optimus, well he's the commander. No one will put up with Cheetor or Rattrap. And Tigatron and Airazor are on patrol most of the time."

"Lucky bunch. Here it's me and Waspi, Scorponok and Inferno, Scourge and Tarantulas, Megatron, well he has his own portion of the ship. And Blackarachnia's a femme so she can't really be paired with anyone comfortably." He shrugged again,"That's how it goes."

They were very close now. He'd moved the chair next to the bed so they were only inches a part. By the Inferno she was beautiful! He felt overwhelmed by the gleam of her exostructure, the gentleness of her optics. Was this what it felt like to love someone? It felt as if some wonderful, warm wind had lifted him into the air and wrapped him in it's security. He wanted to touch her, to hold and protect her. His hand clasp hers desperately, as if swearing it's own resolve never to let go.

"Terror..you're shaking," she whispered, brow furrowed in concern as she reached up to touch his cheek gently.

He put his own hand over it, holding it there. He stared into her eyes, trembling."W..would you think I was a coward if I told you I'm scared to death?"

She shook her head, looking confused."What are you scared of?"

"The way I feel about you." He tilted her chin back with one finger and kissed her on the lips, so softly it seemed impossible he could truly be a Predacon.

"TERRORSAUR! I _know_ you're in there!"

The two dactyls jerked apart, optic wide in shock.

"Scorponok!" he yelped,"Hide!"

"WHERE?!"

He glanced around frantically, then shoved he into a storage closet, just as Megatron's second-in-command barged in. He glared at the shifty red flyer who might have been sweating, had he been in beast mode.

"Why aren't you at your post?"

"I..I was just taking an energon coffee want some?" He snatched up a pot of the greenish liquid, juggling it a moment before he finally steadied it in his grasp. Scorponok made a face. Terrorsaur didn't blame him. That stuff was just plain _nasty! _Waspinator always kept it in their quarters on his desk. He was addicted to the highly caffinated drink, which explained why he was always so high-strung, since that sugar incident when Megatron had all but forbid him to have evenythign directly sweet. This brew must have been at least three days old from the smell of it!

"I'll pass. Just be back at your post in a few cycles so I don't have to cover for you, got it?"

For once Terrorsaur didn't argue with Scoponok's orders, even though inwardly he sneered at the way the scorpion thought just because he was Mega-jerk's right hand lackey it gave him the right to boss _him_around. If Scorponok wasn't so blindly loyal to their _glorious leader _(HA!) he might have been kinda cool, but as it was they hated each other. Well, at least he was leaving.

Suddenly the gray Predacon stopped and looked at Terrorsaur."Who were you talking to when I was outside?"

"Me? Um, no one. I , uh, talk to myself sometimes for company,yeah."

Scorponok looked skeptical. "Well, you better not be trying to hide a pet in here. You know Megatron hates animals."

Terrorsaur decided to try another tactic as the "I talk to myself" bit didn't seem to going over well. "You caught me , Scopi. I found this cute little rabbit with a hurt foot on patrol last night so I brought it back to nurse it to health. But it was feeling better today so I let it go." This story was absurd because anyone who knew Terrorsaur knew if he had found such an animal he would have used it for target practice. Laser stiffled a snicker from her hiding place and he kicked the door subtly, silencing her, though he was struggling to keep a straight face himself.

Scorponok raised an eyebrow."You let it go?"

An angel's hallow seemed to appear over the red Con's head as he nodded and smiled widely.

"How?"

The pterodactyl rolled his optics.~Do I have to paint the guy a picture?~ "Out the view port, how else?"

The scorpion glanced at the view port, then to Terrorsaur, then the view port, then back to the other Pred, his expression a strange mix of disguist, surprise, amusement, horror, and confusion. "Terrorsaur, that view port is directly over a lava pit!"

The look of dawning astonishment and realization on Terrorsaur's face was absolutely comical. He didn't know how to react to this developement, but decided to play off what he did know: Scorponok already thought he was an idiot. He bluffed and hammed up the end of his performance for all he was worth. "**STUPID**!" he slapped his forehead with an audible _smack_. "What was I thinking? Guess that shows how good a pet owner I am."

Scorpnok stared at him in amazement, totally buying it, then shook his head. "You are one _sick _bot, Terrorsaur."

"I _forgot, _okay?" Man, that's a shame. If the poor little guy was gonna get cooked I shoulda at least been able to eat it. Oh well, no use crying over spilled protons."

The scorpion left, still shaking his head.

Only after he was certain the arachnid was gone did he open the closet and discovered a half hysterical Laserbeak, biting on her hand to stifle her snickers. He felt the tickle take over too and before he knew it they were both sprawled on the floor, cracking up as they held each other for support.

"That was just terrible!" she gasped out, still giggling.

"Yeah, I know. I felt kinda bad lying to him too."

"No, well, yes, that. But I meant you were so convincing I actually started feeling bad for the rabbit!"

This brought on a fresh round of laughter and it took the pair quite a while to settle down.

"The others will be worried. I should get back to the _Axalon_," she stated, getting to her feet.

"If Scorponok and Waspi are back you won't be able to get out of here tonight. I can sneak you out tomorrow morning before everyone wakes up."

She bit her lip as she thought this over."What will I tell Optimus?"

Terrorsaur nodded to the storm clouds forming outside. "Tell him you got caught in the storm and had to take shelter for the night. This is gonna be a bad one so he'll believe it."

She nodded, considering his words and finding them reasonable. "Where do I sleep? The floor?" She glanced around for a comfortable place to crash.

"The bunk, of course," he replied, the stammered when she looked at him in shock,"I mean you take the bunk and I'll sleep on the floor."

Laser smiled but shook her head. "What about Waspinator? He's your roommate, right? Don't you think he'll wonder why you suddenly prefer the steel-plated floor to your own bed?"

"Point," he mumbled. "Then I guess the only thing to do .." he hesitated, then finished in a rush,"..is to share the bunk. I won't touch you, I promise."

Laserbeak laughed softly at her friend's jitters. "I'm not worried about you taking advantage of me, Terror. But won't Waspinator notice a strange female suddenly sharing your bunk?"

"That I'm as popular with the ladies as I always say I am," he cracked then turned serious at her scandalized expression. "Nah, he's not the brightest bug in the swarm, and I have top bunk so he never looks up there. He's scared I'll pound him for being nosey."

"Well, I guess that's settled. I'll see when your shift's over." She climbed up on to the upper bunk and closed her optics, snuggling down on the cold metal. His fluid pump increased beating at the picture. She was so lovely.

He sighed and left before he could convince himself not to.

Laserbeak wasn't asleep when he got back. She was more than a bit nervous about spending the night in an enemy base, but then her best friend was there to protect her, so why was she so worried?

True, by all logic Terrorsaur was the last person she should have trusted. He was, after all, a Predacon. Not just a Predacon, but a notoriously deceptive and self absorbed one. But she did trust him, more so than any of her fellow Maximals.

So when he entered the room a megacycle later and climbed up next to her she snuggled into his arms, resting her head against his chest. Everything around her felt dark and forbidding, alien and dangerous, but here she was safe and she fell asleep that way, smiling.

Terrorsaur shivered. Unuse to her warmth, but strangely comforted by it. He slipped his arms around her and held her close, lulled by the beat of her fluid pump against his own.

They were both soundly asleep by the time Waspintor entered the room, and as Terrorsaur had suspected, he didn't so much as glance at his roommate before collapsing onto the lower bunk, his buzzing snores filling the air. Had he bothered he would have most likely thought he was dreaming, as he had know the dactyl a very long time and knew very few girls would have gone out with Terrorsaur.

***

_Laying close to you_

_Feeling your heart beating_

_And I'm wondering what you're dreaming_

_Wondering if it's me you're seeing_

_Then I kiss your eyes_

_And thank God we're together_

_I just want to stay with you in this moment forever_

_Forever and ever_

_Don't wanna close my eyes_

_Don't want fall asleep_

_'Coz I'd miss you baby_

_And I don't wanna miss a thing_

_'Coz even when I dream of you_

_The sweetest dream would never do_

_I'd still miss you baby_

_And I don't wanna miss a thing._

_-------Aerosmith_

_"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing"_

*****

_Take my hand,_

_Take my whole life too,_

_For I can't help_

_Falling in love with you._

_No I, I can't help_

_Falling in love with you._

_____Celine Dion_

***

Laserbeak returned to the _Axalon _the next morning in a fairly good mood. Naturally she had to retell her excuse several times to get herself out of Optimus Primal's presence and even after he dismissed her she still wondered if he had, in fact, bought it. She hated giving reports, it always made her feel like she was on trial.

Throughout the day Rattrap gave her more than the occasional glance of distrust she'd grown used to. She was grateful for once when Cheetor came along and implored her to play mech battle with him. The game was childish and she would have preferred a battle simulation to it's arcade atmosphere, but it made her feel some what at ease to now at least the teenager still liked her, even if he was the only one. Out of fourteen matches she won five and Cheetor nine. Finally she begged fatigue and retired to her quarters.

After undressing it she found her wing had almost healed. That was one plus. Why did life have to be so blasted complicated?

Well, things always looked better after a nap, she reasoned, and shut down to do just that.

***

**Predacon Base, day..**

Terrorsaur was _supposed_ to be calculating the fall of the next stasis pod, but naturally his mind was somewhere else entirely, on the_ Axalon_, with a stream-lined female pterodactyl with green eyes and a heavenly smile.

He wanted to do something special for her, but all the usual romantic things he could think of were too sappy and totally unoriginal; in short, not him.

Suddenly can idea popped into his head. He typed in the words: Scan terrain for waterfalls.

Laser loved waterfalls so he'd find her one. Quite an extraordinary gift, but it had to be even better than that. He'd never felt for anyone the way he did for her, so this had to special. He would find her the most paradise-like, enchanting oasis in the world. The perfect place for the perfect female.

He scanned the possibilities and dismissed them one by one. Finally one caught his eye and he downloaded the location into his own system, mentally patting himself on the back. He couldn't wait to see the look on her face.

***

Laserbeak waited patiently. Terrorsaur was fifteen cycles late. She briefly wondered how much longer they could go on meeting secretly like this. Optimus was sure to guess, if he hadn't already, that her patrols weren't purely duty related.

Without warning her vision went black as something descended over her eyes. She barely cut off a cry of "MAXIMIZE!" when a familiar voice cheered gleefully, "Surprise! Guess who."

"You JERK!" she laughed, twisting in his wings to face her best friend. He grinned at her, flashing a beak full of needle-teeth as he snickered at his own ingenuousness.

"Come on. I want to show you the place I found."

He lead her to a small waterfall that poured down into an icy pool which flowed directly out to the fragrance of wild flowers was heavy in the breeze. Energon crystals glittered from where they were embedded in the rock of the waterfall's base. Suddenly a _whooshing_ noise broke the serene silence and a black dorsal fin spit the pond's surface, then another and another. One of the creatures leap into the air, displaying it's sleek, powerful black and white body before crashing back into the deep.

"An orca!" gasped Laserbeak, enraptured by the magnificent predators as they frolicked in the afternoon sun. An entire pod of killer whales, perhaps ten in all, splashed and breached, exchanging clicks or whistles.

"This is amazing," she whispered in awe.

Terrorsaur glanced at his chronometer and stated,"This is just the start. Wait a nano-click and you'll see amazing."

"What could possibly be better than thi.."

At that second the sun touched the water, reflecting off it in the energon crystals painting a series of gorgious rainbows across the falls. Laser stared at her wings, now a variety of reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, and purples. She turned to her companion, eyes sparkling in wonder.

"Oh, Terror, you're right. It's beautiful," she whispered, her gaze darting around the oasis, trying to take it all in at once.

"Yeah," he sighed as his stare remained locked on the lovely female dactyl in anguished adoration. "Beautiful."

She sensed he was no longer referring to the scenery. Their eyes met, then slowly slid shut as they leaned closer until their beaks brushed and they kissed. His wings slipped around her waist and drew her to him as she trembled in his embrace, reaching up to caress his face tenderly.

They parted and stared at the ground in unison, trying to catch their separate breaths. The sun had set and the night's chill seeped in.

"It's late. I have to get back," she murmured, still not looking directly at him. She was afraid of what she might see. No matter what he was a Predacon and she was a Maximal, despite their friendship. Nothing more could occur between them. It would only make things harder on both of them.

"Sure. See you tomorrow?"

"Of course."

They didn't bother to trade goodbyes. They would see each other soon so their was never any need.

"Sentinel, stand down," she muttered.

The _Axalon's _sheild disappeared and she entered the ship quickly and quietly. She felt a slight rush of excitement with the prospect of sneaking back into the base as always. It wasn't that she _had _to, if anyone asked she could just say she was on patrol, but this was more fun. Grinning to herself, she crept towards her quarters...

"Laserbeak?"

And stopped, cursing as she turned to face the Maximal leader.

"Yes, Optimus, Sir?"

"Just Optimus, Laserbeak. I'd like to have a moment of your time if I may. We have something that merits discussing."

"Ofcourse," she agreed, fluid pump hammering wildly in her chest. The look in his optics. He knew. How she couldn't surmise, but if he did she was in for it now. Slag!

She followed him to the command center and stood before him, suddenly finding her feet particularly interesting.

"Laserbeak, it's come to my attention that you're spending a large amount of time outside the base. Not only that, but you really take no interest in much around here. you do as you're told but you don't socialize or hardly even speak with your fellow Maximals."

"I have nothing in common with anyone here. They all hate me because it was a Predacon who reactivated me," she replied coldly.

"I understand and I do sympathize, but to be honest, you don't make much of an effort to change that opinion."

She shifted uncomfortably, then answered evenly," I don't feel like I belong here, Optimus. Just look at me. The only other reptilian here is Dinobot and I'm not exactly as noble in appearance as him, even in bot mode."

The Maximal commander looked at her, accessing her slowly, and had to agree. In bot mode, as she was currently, Laserbeak resembled Blackarachnia a bit more than Airazor. She was lithe and sleek, with wild green optics that seemed to hide something, and a transformation much like Terrorsaur. She looked more Predacon than Maximal any day.

That in mind he pushed on to the next, more pressing subject."Your loyalties have been brought into question as well."

"My..my loyalty," she asked in surprise.

He sighed,"Laser, I had Rattrap follow you. We know you've been meeting with Terrorsaur, which puts me in a very bad position. Despite some of your actions I don't believe you've been doubling as a spy, but the others don't share my opinion."

"Rattrap?" she asked evenly, "And maybe Rhinox or Dinobot, right? Well, they're dead wrong. I'm no traitor, Optimus. You _know _that!"

"Then why have you been secretly meeting with a member of the Predacon forces?"

She looked caught for a moment, the replied,"It has a lot to do with my distinction from the other Maximals. Terror and I, we get along, we just click. I need someone to talk to and as weird as it is he's the closest thing to a friend I have."

"So your relationship is purely friendship?"

She thought about this a moment. Terrorsaur was her best friend, the only one who understood her. But these last days he'd become something more. That kiss, her lips still tingled from it. She'd been trying to deny it until now, but in her heart she knew: she loved him, maybe always had. He was the oddest, and occasionally the most annoying bot she knew, but she cared deeply for him.

"No, not purely friendship," she whispered at last, a soft smile flitting across her face and she looked up at him. "I'm in love with him, Optimus."

***

_I know you love me,_

_and soon you will see,_

_You were meant for me,_

_and I was meant for you_

____Jewel_

_*****_

_"You were meant for me"_

_People are sayin'_

_That boy is gonna hurt you_

_His kind of love is not for real_

_He's only playin'_

_Foolin' with your heart girl_

_But I know how he makes feel_

_And I don't any other proof_

_They just don't understand_

_They don't know the truth._

______Celine Dion_

_"Everybody's Talkin' My Baby Down"_

***

Optimus stared at her a long moment, this small, slender female Maximal, so reclusive and quiet. But here was a side of her he'd never seen. Her optics shone with happiness, and he could see she was telling the telling the truth. He shook his head sadly.

"That complicates things, Laserbeak. Back on Cybertron it would be acceptible. The Predacons and Maximals are at peace there, but here there's a war going on. And being involved with an enemy fighter...do you honestly think anything can come of it but pain?"

She swallowed hard and answered simply,"I don't know, but I can't change the way I feel. I love him. I didn't even realize it until now but when I around him I don't feel so ..alone any more."

"As happy as I am for you, I can't help but wonder if his intentions are the same as yours. How can you be sure he's now using you to get to us?"

"Terrorsaur isn't like that! Look, I know you've been here longer than me, but you don't know him like I do. He'd never hurt me. He loves me, for me!"

"How do you know? How can you believe him?"

She wanted to cry, because truthfully she didn't know. He'd never told her he loved her, but didn't that kiss count for anything? "I don't, but I trust him, Optimus. I know that sounds stupid when I'm talking about a Pred, but think about this. Terrorsaur has plans, big plans. He thinks he has a chance at taking over the Predacons. He's not like Megatron. When he gains control of the Preds we can call a truce, even an alliance!"

"IF he gains control of the Predacons he'll have no intention of calling a Predacons call a cease fire it's only so they can reload their weapons. You'd realize that if you emotions weren't clouding your logic circuits."

"You sound like Dinobot,"she sneered,"I know what I'm doing."

"Laserbeak, I'm not trying to criticize you. But I'm responsible for all the lives on this ship, lives you could jeopardize if you slip and let out any information pertaining to our defenses. You aren't to meet with him again."

"Optimus! No, you can't! I promise I won't say anything about the _Axalon _or the Maximals. If you stop me from seeing him you might as well kill me," she pleaded, optics wide with horror and pain as already a little piece of her died from the thought of being without him again.

Optimus felt bad despite the sensibility of his orders. He couldn't risk the well-being of all his troops for the happiness of one, but he could tell she really cared for Terrorsaur. The Predacons was obviously playing of her natural Maximal instincts to get something. Preds didn't know the meaning of love or honesty. He closed his eyes and turned away, stung by the look of hope that had developed on her face. Her heart would be broken but in the long run he'd be saving her from the agony she'd suffer when Terrorsaur showed his true colors.

"I'm sorry, Laser. My decision stands. The others aren't sure of your loyalty to us and frankly, after what you've told me, I have my own doubts. I can't be sure you haven't already told them something crucial, but I_ can _make sure it doesn't happen again. You'll understand in time."

"You still think I'm a spy?! I thought you were on my side!"

"I don't take sides, Laser.."

But she wasn't listening anymore. Her eyes flashed,"You think if I were leaking info to the Preds I'd come back here? Have Rhinox scan my truth circuits! I haven't told Terrorsaur anything, for the FIVE THOUSANDTH TIME!!!"

Optimus sighed,"Be that as it may, it's too great a risk. As your commander, I'm ordering you not to contact him except engaging him in battle."

Laserbeak narrowed her optics defiantly,"You can take you orders and stuff them where the sun doesn't shine, Primal. I'm outta here. BEAST MODE!" With a sharp, angry squawk she transformed and rocketed out of the control room, tears running down her cheeks and Optimus' call ringing in her ears.

She flew to a tree near the border of Predacon territory, one she'd met her fellow dactyl at many times before. Sobbing, she switched on her comlink and tuned it to Pred frequency, "Terror, please, please, be there.."

***

Terrorsaur had yawned and slumped in front of the com station. He doubted he'd be getting much action tonight.

Suddenly a signal went off. The screen flashed the Maximal insignia and he sat up, glancing around, and he tried to decide if he should go get Megatron or take it himself. He decided of the later. Megatron kept enough secrets to himself, time to even the score. He turned it on. Laserbeak's tearful face materialized before him.

"Laser!" he yelped, jerking foward, expression full of shock.

"Terror," she smiled weakly and sniffed,"Can I see you? It's important."

"I dunno. I'm on com duty. If I get caught slacking of again.."

"Please, Terror, please. I really need you right now. I've left the Maximals, cut my ties with them."

_"You WHAT?"_

"Please come. It's so cold and I 'm so scared," she whispered, sounding like a frightened kid instead of the strong exterior she usually showed. How could he resist her?

"Give me your coordinates. I'm on my way."

"Thanks, Terror."

"Just don't cry anymore, okay? Promise? It kills me when you do, Laser."

She smiled softly,"'kay. You're something else, T.S., but you're the best friend I could ever ask for."

***

_And looking into your eyes,_

_And seeing all I need,_

_And everything you are,_

_Is everything to me._

____Edwin Mccain_

_"I Could Not Ask For More"_

**_Author's Note: And here we see Shelley forgot role numberone o pairing fics in her young age: If you don't keep the original cast all in character is makes it far less interesting for the readers. Sorry about that. I know Optimus would have been much more stern with Lase considering his reaction to Silverbolt and Blackarachnia or at very least put up more of an attempt to stop her from leaving but this is how I wrote it when I was a kid and I didn't want to change it TOO much. The rabbit scene still makes me laugh. It's a horrid joke but it still amuses me. I have this whole fic written and infact three others in the series but I had to edit them for errors before I load them so this is finished and it will be up soon. Shoackbox, if you read this, didn't I tell you there were some freaky simularities between our fics with the secret meeting place and all? Yours is much better though. If anyone's reading this and wants to astoundingly good IN CHARACTER writer about Terrorsaur and Waspinator, go read Shockbox's fics "The Little Details" and "Crimson Star". They are amazingly good and you won't be disappointed!~Lase_**


	4. Laserbeak the Predacon

**Difficult Relationships (4 of 7)**

**by Laserbeak**

_I know that when you look at me,_

_There's so much that you just don't see_

_But if you could only could only take more time_

_I know in my heart you would find,_

_A lonely girl who's scared sometimes, who isn't always strong_

_Can't you see the hurt in me?_

_I feel so all alone_

_I want to run to you!_

_I want to run to you!_

_Won't you hold me in your arms and keep me safe from harm?_

_I want to run to you!_

_But if I come to you,_

_tell me,_

_Will you stay_

_or will you run away?_

______Whitney Housten_

_"Run To You"_

_***_

"Okay, what's this about you ditching the Maximals?" Terrorsaur asked as he settled on a branch next to her. She looked more blue than lavender and was shaking slightly from the cold.

"No joke. I'm a free agent, looking for employment. Think I have a chance at joining the Preds?"

He frowned, "Maybe. Jeez, you're half frozen! Here." She felt something warm and leathery wrap around her only to realize Terrorsaur had enfolded her in his wings and rested his beak atop her head. She smiled, feeling protected in his strong embrace, and sighed happily.

"Better?"

"Yeah."

Terrorsaur held his companion's cold, lithe, lovely form to him. He had never held a female in his arms before but found it a blissful experience indeed.

"So you want to be a Pred, huh?"

"If you can do it so can I. Besides, think about it! We'll be on the same side. We can hang out together any time without worrying about someone finding out."

Though slightly miffed by her first comment, he let it slide and asked instead,"Is it something you really want to do? Don't get me wrong, I could use somebody to back me up, but once your in the Predacons, you don't back out. And if it comes down to a fight do you think you could fire on the Maximals?"

"I guess we'll see, won't we?"

***

**Predacon Base**, soon afterward...

"Terrorsaur, what exactly do you mean bring this Maximal into our base? Didn't you learn anything from that disaster involving the treacherous vermin whom you claimed was your lieutenant?" Megatron demanded from his command chair high above the two dactyls.

All the other Predacons were present too, of course. What a strange bunch of bots, all insects too! There was the locust, the whacked out wasp, two shifty looking spiders, the on-edge scorpion, and the massive fire ant. Yet she sensed a connection with them, as if her spark was telling her this was were she belonged.

Terrorsaur pulled at the top of his beast mode chest guard with an index finger. "That was a completely different situation, Megatron. Laserbeak hasn't been a Maximal long. She has no ties to them and her logic circuits told her to join the winning side."

"An interesting story, yessss. But a convincing one, no. Any bot can change their activation code. Why should I believe this female has any true intention of becoming a Predacon and is not simply a Maximal _spy_?"

If Laser had possessed hackles they would have bristled at the sound of the "S" word. She wouldn't stand to be called that here too! "I've grown tired of the Maximals and their ways. If you don't believe me have the computer scan my truth circuits, but if _anyone _accuses me of being a spy again I'll scrap them!"

Megatron smirked, amused by the female's outburst."Very well. Computer, scan this unit for deception bytes."

_"SCANNING."_ A yellow light washed over the she-dactyl as she waited patiently, fists clinched at her sides.

_"SCANNING COMPLETED. DECEPTION BYTES NOT PRESENT."_

"Satisfied?" she asked evenly, noting with a touch of uneasiness that Terrorsaur, her only backer, had stepped out of the light and joined the other Predacons in the shadows, leaving her to face the tyrannosaur alone. Her optics locked with his, twin pools of burning hatred, evil, and greed. She wanted to shiver but didn't dare show weakness.

After what seemed like eternity Megatron reclined back, a smug expression dawning on his face. He evidently liked what he saw."Well, well, well. A discontent Maximal? We are, of course, always interested in recruiting new soldiers, but you must understand we can not be too careful. So you must prove yourself according to our traditions, yesssss."

"And those traditions would be..?" she asked, skeptically cocking an eyebrow and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Why, one-on-one combat with our fiercest warrior, yessss."

"Combat? I like that," Laserbeak stated, green eyes gleaming,"So who is to be my, ahem, _worthy opponent_?"

Megatron turned to the waiting Predacons and scrutinized them for potential. "Inferno, would you do the honors?"

The huge ant stepped forward and soluted Megatron smartly, "As you wish, My Queen."

_"I told you never to call me that!!!!"_

"Yes, My Quee.., yes Royalty." He turned to Laserbeak, towering over her at nearly twice her height. Suddenly Terrorsaur surged forward and grabbed her by the shoulders, grinning nervously at Megatron."Can I have a quick word with our possible new recruit?"

The Predacon leader frowned, then waved his hand in a dismissive gesture,"Very well, but be fast about it."

Terrorsaur nodded, pulling her off to one side of the room. "Are you nuts? That bug has whopped every Maximal _and_Predacon on this planet! You'll be scrap in half a nano-click!"

"And my other options are...? Besides, he's too big to keep up with me. You know our species is built for speed. That beats brute strength hands down. I can do it , Terror."

He sighed, knowing she'd made up her mind. "Good luck." But if that ant hurt her...

The two combatants stepped into the center of the room, circling one another, waiting for the other to make to first move. Inferno tried to grab her and she rammed a fist into his stomach, gasping in surprise as she failed to even place a dent there, but her hand felt as if it'd been caught in a trash compactor.

She staggered back, reavaluating her situation. It wasn't good. She slashed out with her claws at his head, though it was far out of her reach. Inferno parried the blow and swung at her legs with one of his own. She had been expecting this move and neatly jumped over it as his leg swooshed under her feet. What she hadn't been expecting was the powerful uppercut that sent her flying through the air. She hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of an organic, but as she was in robot mode it merely phased her. Inferno, gloating in his victory, strode over and stood on top of the fallen dactyl.

"For the Royalty!" he proclaimed, not noticing as Laser drew back a slender leg, then pistoned it up, kneeing him soundly where it hurt most. It was a dirty move, but then Predacons were supposed to fight dirty.

All the males groaned in unison with Inferno while Blackarachnia chuckled evilly.

Inferno reeled away and fell in a heap nearby, twisting and writhing in pain.

Laser pushed herself to her feet and smiled triumphantly as she pumped one fist in the air. No one disputed the fact that she'd won. All the guys were too scared to. She took a bow and scattered, hesitant applause broke out.

Megatron nodded,"That was entertaining, yessss. Welcome to the Predacons, Miss Laserbeak. I am sure you will make an excellent addition to our ranks."

"Thank you, Mighty Megatron," she grinned and glanced at Terrorsaur, who was also grinning.

Inferno made several unsuccessful attempts to get to his feet. Laserbeak quickly turned and, with a little difficulty, helped him up. Their optics locked for a moment, then he nodded. "You fight well. You will serve the Queen as a drone worthy of respect."

She smiled slightly."You're not half bad yourself." She extended a hand which he shook firmly. A bit too firmly. She winced, massaging her palm when she got it back.

"Sorry about, um, you know," she motioned downward with her eyes.

"Huh? Oh, no matter. I am fully recovered."

"Good. I hope we can work together, Inferno. You're a true warrior."

"Likewise, Laserbeak." He saluted her and left. She found herself alone with Terrorsaur and Waspinator.

"Congrads! You're in, Laser!" Terrorsaur crowed, clapping her on the back. His optics shone with pride.

"Lazer-bot kicked ant-bot's butt!" Waspinator chimed in eagerly,"Wazzzpinator is glad Lazer-bot iz on hiz side. Maybe Wazzzpinator not get blown up so often now!"

"We should give you a tour of the base."

"One thing first" She waved a hand over the Maximal insigna on her arm,changing it from a fox to the insect symbol of the Predacons, then beast moding, "Laserbeak, TERRORIZE!!" She snapped back to bot mode, smirking."I like the sound of that. Goodbye Maximals. Your worst nightmare has just emerged and won't you be surprized when you see her face. Victory to the Predacons!"

"Victory to the Predacons!" Waspinator and Terrorsaur cheered as the trio slapped a high five.

***

Waspinator insisted on tagging along for the whole tour, much to Terrorsaur's annoyance. Laserbeak, however, was charmed by the spirited insect and his child-like glee in explaining thing in large, if rather garbled detail.

..."And this iz CR-chamber hold. Wazzzpinator spendz lotz of time here cauze alwayz getting blown up by stupid Maximalz, but alwayz bounce back. Wazzzpinator iz greatest of Predaconz..." He stopped suddenly as his antennas began to quiver. "Wazzzpinator smellz energon cake! Wait, don't eat all! Save piece for Wazzzpinator!" he called, changing into beast mode and zipping down the hall to the kitchen.

The two dactyls watched him go, shaking their heads.

"I should have left him on Cybertron," Terrorsaur muttered.

"You two have known each other a long time, huh?"

"We've been wingmates since we were sparklings. He was almost normal then. We were the closest Predacons get to being friends. Did some petty crime together, pickpocketing and the like. Once day I made the mistake of picking the wrong target. I guess we were about Freckle's age then. Anyway this this unbelievably big Maximal caught me with my hand in his subspace compartment digging for loose credits. Would have blasted me too, but Waspi took the shot for me, jumped right out in front of me and took a laserbolt in the chest. For me. Waspi was never the same after that. He was like he is now, eager, curious, trusting, whiny, like a little kid. I couldn't leave him out on his own, not after what he'd done for me. So he's been my sorta side-kick ever since."

She smiled,"And when Megatron put out the call for Preds with a taste for power you brought him along, didn't abandon him. That was nice of you."

He shrugged, feeling slightly uncomfortable,"Yeah, well, I still owed him, but even here I have to watch out for the buzzbrain or Megatron might leave him for scrap."

Just then Waspinator came flying back up the corridor, somehow managing to balance three plates in his small, two-digit beast mode claws ."Scorpion-bot made HUGE energon cake. Wazzzpinator brought back some for friendz."

He handed each of them a metal disk holding a thick slice of green, spongy energon cake. Out of politeness Laserbeak forced herself to take a bite...and found it was actually delicious. "Thank you, Waspinator. Be sure to tell Scorponok his cake is wonderful, please,"she told him.

The wasp's purple multifaceted eyes went wide and he nodded rapidly, giggling in a nervous manner. "Wazzzpinator tell Scorpion-bot what pretty dactyl-bot say! Go right now!" He whirled and sped back to where he'd come from, leaving them alone again.

Terrorsaur watched him disappear, then turn back to Laserbeak in amazement. "I don't believe it! The buzzbrain has a total crush on you!"

The female's eyes widened, then she smiled seductively and rested her head on his shoulder."I hope he's not the _only _one," she murmured in a suggestive tone, running a finger up and down his arm.

Terrorsaur gulped. He knew the feelings he had been experiencing lately were not uncommon for a Predacon. But having never fallen in love before they scared him, as he had confessed, more than anything he'd ever encountered. Before her he'd had nothing to lose. And when she had been a Maximal his affection for her hadn't concerned him because since they were enemies nothing could come of it. But now that she was a Predacon he suddenly had a great deal a stake. If he allowed himself to care for her and something befell her...he shuddered. He'd have to give this a great deal of thought.

***

**Author's Note: Again, if I were writing this now her initiation would have been far more difficult but please don't write Lase off as a Mary Sue even at this point. After all, as I'm found of saying, she can't charm birds down from the trees with sweet song like Snow White (infact with her beast mode she's be more likely to make them drop dead from the branches from rupturing their tiny little brains with screech) and as you will see not everyone likes her by far. At this age I had no where near the talent several of my friends did and do but enjoy it for what it is and please review? LOL.**


	5. Assassination Attempt

**Difficult Relationships (5 of 7)**

**by Laserbeak**

_For a time I felt my faith it must be hiding  
Searching through the sky  
Hoping to find a way, a way  
To get me through the day  
Wonder where I belong  
Is this where I should stay_

You Lift me up when I am falling  
You're my friend when I was calling  
Now I'm on top of the world,  
Top of the whole wide world  
Yeah you always been believing  
Give my life a whole new meaning  
Now I'm on top of the world,  
Top of the whole wide world

It's the strength in me  
It seems I have forgotten  
Now I, realize today  
I'm starting to dream again, again  
Was a matter of when  
I guess we all lose our way now and then

_-Mandy Moore, Top of the World_

*******

Laserbeak uncovered her first conspiracy against Megatron shortly after her arrival. Surprizingly, it wasn't Terrorsaur who was behind it, and it was much more menacing than anything her fellow pterodactyl had ever conceived. It was also a blessing in disguise, for in it's darkness it united two friends who were destined to be bound together.

She was walking the barrack halls one night on her way to the control center when she heard a low chuckling coming from one of the rooms. This didn't surprise her much since the room in question _was _Tarantulas's lab_. _But she was a curious bot so she crept a little closer to listen.

The spider wasn't alone. Scourge was with him. He was a giant purple, orange and greenish colored locust, recruited barely a month before she had been reborn into this life. Scourge was a loathsome creature, obsessed in germ-warfare and lethal chemical development. All the other Preds despised him, because he delighted in nothing more than using them as test subjects.(Waspinator had once grown an extra pair of arms from one of these experiments, or so she'd been told. But the effects had , thankfully,only lasted temporarily and the fourth set of appendages had disappeared after a week.)

Laserbeak peeked into the lab cautiously. What ever they were planning, she knew it wasn't good. The two crafty scientists were crouched over a tiny cage, and inside was a glistening black spider with a blood red hour glass marking on it's back. A black widow. This wasn't particularly alarming. Tarantulas kept many of the arachnids for the possibility he could create another like himself and Blackarachnia. Why, after his disasterous failure to create a docile and agreeable mate, he would persist was anyone guess. At least their venom only affected organics. But this scene still chilled her mech-fluids to the core processor.

"Have you been feeding her the infected mice?" Tarantulas asked as he prodded the bloated spider with a metal bar the size of a pencil. The widow reared back and hissed.

"Every night, each one injected with enough of my special cyber venom to kill a dozen Megatrons. He won't know what hit him."

"Perfect." Tarantulas leered at the widow as she suddenly clamped her tiny fangs into the bar and unleashed a blast of poison. The bar was a good five centimeters shorter when he removed it.

"And you're sure she will die exactly ten cycles after biting her intended victume?" Scourge demanded.

"Of course. This spider is more competent that half the Predacons in this base."

"She had better be, Tarantulas. I don't have the supplies or patience to redo this experiment if it fails."

"Don't worry, insect. Soon Megatron will be gone. Then we will deal with those loyal to him and we shall rule the Predacons."

They both broke into an evil, ominous laughter, and Laserbeak backed away, having heard all she needed to. She scurried across the hall and ducked into a storage closet nano-clicks before the pair emerged, chuckling between themselves.

Breathing hard, she pushed back far into alcove and when they'd passed she thought quickly. She was a Predacon soldier and thus loyal to Megatron, correct? She definitely didn't want to follow those two, anyway. And despite her apparent betrayal of the Maximals, she was a fiercely loyal bot at her core. Only her love for Terrorsaur had been strong enough to turn her. She couldn't sit idly while her commander was assassinated! Yet she couldn't face Tarantulas and Scourge alone either. But she could foil their plans.

Smirking, she followed where they had disappeared down the long dark cooridor. To command center where the Predacon leader often dozed in his throne-like chair. Though he had his share of brillance, Megatron's arrogance left him more open than he realized to these shorts of attacks.

As she'd suspected, the two conspirators had made themselves scarce immediately after releasing the black widow. They knew Inferno and Scorponok wouldn't rest until they found the killer of their leader and didn't want to be caught.

Already the villainous creature was creeping toward the sleeping form of Megatron. A hidiously plump andvillainously shiney thing, it slunk across the deck plates as though programmed with insidious purpose. Laserbeak had never believed purely orgnaic beings could be entirely evil but it crossed her processor that enough time spent in the clutches of Tarantulas could warp and contort any mind, no matter how primative.

~Slag it!~ she thought, lunging forward and seizing the spider in one hand. The arachnid hissed like a cat cornered by a large dog and Laserbeak seriously began to question her sanity as she realized what a stupid thing she'd just done. She squeezed down on the spider, intending to crush it, hopefully before it bit her!

Suddenly the widow unleased a piercing scream, startling the she-dactyl, who dropped her prey and stumbled backward, falling on the deck's floor. She groaned and froze in horror as the injured but alive spider drug itself toward her, forgetting it's original target. It's tiny dark mind was now filled with thoughts of venomous vengence.

"BUUURRRRRNNNN, foul thing," Inferno snarled, stepping out of his hiding place in the shadows and blasting the arachnid with his flamethrower. "BUUURRRRRN!" It shrieked so painfully that Laserbeak's hands flew to her audio sensors to cover them as they throbbed with agonizing feedback. Almost enough to make her think the foul little beast had been sentient.

Megatron jerked awake, his red optics blazing in confusion and outrage at the disruption. "Inferno, Laserbeak, what in the Pit is going on?"

Inferno saluted."Royalty, we.."

Laserbeak covered the ant's mouth before he could finish, something she had to strain to accomplish as he was so much taller and half expected to lose a digit or two to those sharp, conical teeth for her effort. "We were doing a little extermination job." She pointed to the twisted, scorched body of the spider.

Megatron frowned at the pair suspiciously, in a poor mood at being disturbed from his recharge but such seemingly mundane causes. Also he was wise enough to realize she was not being entirely truthful with him. "Yessss, I see. Well, get out and find some other activity to amuse yourselves so I may have my rest."

"Yes, my Queen."

"Of course, Sir."

Bowing and stammering apologies, they existed. Once outside, Inferno regarded her with surprise. "Why did you not tell the Royalty about the assassination attempt?"

"Because I doubt he would have believed me and if he had I would have to put up with threats from those creeps when they found out I ratted on them."

He nodded slowly, then touched her shoulder, nearly knocking her over with his misjudged strength,"You are a very brave drone, my friend. You saved the Queen."

She blushed and glanced at the ground."I killed a spider, Inferno. That wouldn't exactly earn me a place in Silicon Valhalla. And you're the one who really killed it....how did you know anyway?"

"Scorponok and I planted a microphone device in Tarantulas's lab."

Just then something he'd said earlier struck her. "Did you call me..a friend?"

"We are comrades in arms, yes? Therefore we are friends." He stated. He had known from the start somehow she would be a loyalist like him, and instantly liked her.

The feeling was mutual. Inferno was a fierce warrior, like Dinobot, only not as bright. And since she had been such an outcast in the Maximals, his acceptance of her endeared the fire-ant to her immediately.

Their memories having been wiped when they had been put into stasis lock as protoforms, they had no way of knowing the reason they were drawn to each other or the true nature of their relationship. It was something only time could reveal and the discovery would come from a very unlikely source indeed.

***

_Every now and then,_

_We find a special friend_

_Who never let's us down,_

_Who understands it all,_

_Reaches out each time we fall,_

_you're the best friend I've found._

_____Jordan Hill_

_"Remember Me This Way"_

_**Author's Note: Wow, this was..short. LOL. I am leading up to something though, as much of a pointless drabble as this chapter may seem. Two to go! Review, review, review, please???**_


	6. Secrets and Newcomers

**Difficult Relationships (6 of 7)**

**by Laserbeak**

_"The Living, We owe respect. To the dead, we owe the truth." ~Voltaire_

_Born to lose, I've lived my life in vain_

_Every dream I dreamed has only brought me pain_

_All my life, I've always been so blue_

_Born to lose, and now I'm losing you._

_Born to lose, it seems so hard to bear_

_How I long to always have you near_

_You've grown tired, and now you say we're through_

_Born to lose, and now I'm losing you._

_Born to lose, I've lived my life in vain_

_Every dream I dreamed has only brought me pain_

_All my life, I've always been so blue_

_Born to lose, and now I'm losing you_

_Born to lose, and now I'm losing you._

__Leanna Rimes, Born to Lose_

Three Months Later…

**MAXIMAL BASE, DAY...**

Rattrap tried to concentrate on his card game, but his mind kept wondering off and Sentinel was beating him by a mile. He tried to shut it out. He didn't want to remember the day his only family had been taken from him, but it all came rushing back like a flood dam bursting. Everything.

_Throttle shifted next to him anxiously as they crouched side-by-side around the building's corner which had taken several hits and was slowly being widdled away. All this for a few scraps of info? _

_"Stinkin'Maximal Security. Why don't they just attack so we can slag em?" he muttered irritably._

_"Hey, hey, don't blow a fuse. Novablast will be back in from recon soon an' then we'll show um what happens when they mess with the best," Rattrap, or Gasket as he'd been known back then, insisted._

_"I don't see how you can trust that turncoat. I say he's just a spy. Just because weren't of the same faction doesn't mean we can trust him and he did work for the Maximals at one point. Most Predacons are only out for their own benefit, you know. Once a Pred, always a Pred. Remember that, little bro. That's one statement that'll always be true."_

_Gasket shook his head in discouragement. Ever since the day he'd come into this business Throttle had been watching out for him. They weren't truly brothers in any sense except the one that counted most, that they looked out for one another. Closer than partners or mech blood bond, which was unusual in the realm of espionage. Maybe it all had to do with both of them being orphans. After their sparks left their mothers wombs Cybertroninas were placed in bodies and self-sufficient for that point to an extent. They were pretty helpless as toddlers but by early youth they could function pretty well on their own That didn't mean family bond were any less precious, and being thrown aside like a broken circuit had left Throttle bitter and cynical._

_~Scrap me if I ever turn out like that.~_

_Gasket was the less skeptical of the two. He fully trusted Novablast, the blue and black Predacon who had deflected to their ranks thirteen solar cycles ago. Nova was at least ten stellar cycles older than he but the former Pred seemed to take an interest in the younger Predacon.. They had had deep conversations before, mostly about Throttle, and the questions were all something like: Is Throttle considered one of the most dangerous threats to the Maximal Archieves? How will he attack? Is he a vital element to the Info Squad? And Gasket, being very young and a rather naïve bot, was only to glad to answer them all. His adopted brother was one of their greatest warriors, granted, a spy-bot, but he had taught Gasket everything he knew. Throttle's quick thinking and strategical logic certainly placed victory in their hand in the case of most jobs. And Novablast always listened with intent interest..._

_"Get ready. We're gonna charge um," Throttle cautioned him. Suddenly a hand fell on his shoulder, making him jump. They whirled to face Novablast, who stood a foot taller than either of them, his arms crossed over his chestplate._

_"Get down,will ya?," Throttle snarled,"Do you want to get shot down behind our lines like the treacherous slag you are?" _

_"Your concern is touching, Throt.. But if you'll look out there I think you'll discover the enemy has vanished."_

_"WHAT?!" Throttle shot up from his position and surveyed the scene, which was indeed deserted. He reacted with anger instead of relief at seeing the Maximal's retreat._

_"Lousey, slaggin', scrap-faced, yellow-striped…!" he grumbled, clutching his silver hands in fists at his sides as he watched the lifeless street where smoke was still rising from laserblast holes in buildings._

_"Hey, hey, ease up, Throt. I thought this was a good thing. B'sides,we got a clear path out with the data now," Gasket encouraged._

_"He's right, Throttle. Besides, you should know the greatest threat doesn't come from the outside....but from within," Novablast hissed, drawing his saber and running the surprised spy directly through the spark. Gasket's mouth opened in a silent scream as the only family he'd known for the majority of his life slumped to the ground in a puddle of his own mech blood. He felt the anger of betrayal surge up inside him and lunged at the other bot, drawing his blaster._

_"Ya no good, slaggin' Pred!" he shrieked, firing a shot directly into the Con's black face plate. Novablast fell dead. Tricked by one of their own looking to make it good with the more powerful half of the planet! Now the Maximal Forces had come from hiding and were attacking the full force. Gasket was oblivious to this. He looked at the body of Novablast the traitor. The first bot he had ever killed. This brought a mixture of horror and satisfaction. Then he knelt at his brother's side, cradling his head in his hands. Throttle stared up at him weakly, the light in his red optics fading to a dim glow._

_"Nice job, little bro. You'll make quite the warrior someday.." he groaned in pain, the saber still protuding horribly from his torso and mech blood dripped from the corners of his mouth._

_"Throttle, I..I.." Gasket stammered in shock, knowing he was dying. No CR-chamber could repair the damage done to his spark. And all because he'd trusted Novablast._

_Throttle's optics locked on the body of the dead Predacon. "Wha'd I tell ya, Gasket? Once a Pred, always a Pred." His optics faded to darkness and Throttle, Rattrap's brother, best friend, and partner,died as a single tear, the only one he had ever shed, slide silently down the cheek of the younger Predacon._

In retrospect, maybe he should have hated the Maximals more, he mused. After all, if they hadn't been on a mission to hack into the Core Maximal Archieves Throttle wouldn't be dead now. But instead he focused all his energy on hating the Predacons. His own people. Hated them for their greed to gain a tactical advantage, for their callousness that his put himself and his friend out on the street to begin with, and most of all for their treachery which compelled then to turn on their own for the sake of personal gain.

"Once a Pred, always a Pred," Rattrap muttered coldly, repeating his brother's last words as he watched Dinobot out one of the viewports of the _Axalon. _The raptor was helping Rhinox repair one of the ships guns. Rattrap's red optics narrowed to glowing slits of hatred.

It had set him back all his savings to sponge his history. Changing your activation code was easy enough but changing your identity was something else all together. Documents and records had to be forged with precision and even then there was always a chance for a slip up.

Now he had let his guard down again, gotten close to a Pred. And he hated Dinobot for it. And though he wouldn't admit it, he hated himself still more.

"Ya may act like a Maximal, Chopperface, but yer still just a stinkin' Con. Once a Pred, always a Pred. I ain't never trusting one a yer kind again."

***

Something was definitely rotting. Normally Rattrap enjoyed the scent of rotting garbage, but this wasn't garbage. It was an animal. He twitched his whiskers in disgust as he pushed through the brush and came upon a half eaten gazelle. Phew! Musta been one of Chopperface's half finished breakfasts. Well, ONE of the chopper faces. He was still getting used to there being more than one raptor around.

From with in the bushes something moved and a low purr like growl filtered through the bushes but the object that had moved was invisible again.

He blinked,"That you Spots? Quit playin' kiddie games!" He scowled, sickened by the mess whichever predator had left behind. It only reaffirmed his opinion that rats were far superior and never made messes like this.

Some vegetation crunched loosing the strong smell of damaged greens and a black and white snout slowly pushed through the bushes.

Rattrap hissed and whirled, instantly on edge.

"I smell....Rodant." A feminine voice hissed softly.

"Yeah? Well you don't smell like sunshine and dew drops neither, sistah!" he shot back. She stepped clear of the bushes eyeing him coolly slowly straightening up. In beast mode much taller then The Rodant in his beast mode. He eyed her back uneasily, wondering if he should transform.

Barely a month ago they'd located the pod the female had been encased in, already empty. It took considerably longer to track her down and then she'd nearly cute Rattrap and Cheetor to pieces before realizes they were both Maximals, as she was. Nightstalker was a considerably unnerving presence to be around, and still worse (in rattrap's book) she was strangely attractive. Not that he'd ever admit it! There was nothing worse that being attracted to what narrowed down to a female version of Dinobot!

She looked over her shoulder then back at him. "You alone Rodant?" She hissed. "Do you think that's wissse??

"Hey maybe you need a babysitter, Scales, but I can take care a' myself," he puffed his chest out.

She sniffed at him then laughed. "I'm sure you can, Rodant,"

"You bet I can," he insisted, then nodded to the carcass,"At least I got enough class not ta' leave my left over laying around fer someone to step in!"

"Who said I left them?" She asked quirking an eye ridge.

He paused, not knowing what to say,"Well...someone did.." he said lamely

"Obviously," She stated and turned away stalking across the clearing

He blinked,"Hey, wait up!' he called, not wanting to be alone with the carcass, all too aware he was a small prey like animal.

She paused and glanced over her shoulder at him. "Hmmm?"

He scurried after her, panting a little as he caught up.

She snickered and kept walking. "Sooo afraid to be alone out here?" She asked

"NO!" he retorted defensively, then added,"I just figured yer scaly little butt couldn't make it back to the ship alone, and I don't wanna be sent back out ta look fer ya."

She yawned then rolled her green eyes upwards, displaying sharp white teeth and a black mouth and tongue. "Uh huh."

He huffed and flicked his tail as he matched her pace. Not easily, but well enough. After all, he was used to keeping up with raptors. Not that he had to like it.

"So uh….what're you doin' out here anyway?

"Just patrolling, yourself?" she asked

"Eh, I needed ta get away from the kid for a while..all that youthful enthusiasm cooped up on monitor duty spinning his chair round and round..that combined with Monkey Man just talkin's enough ta give me a processor meltdown.."

She snickered. "The kid isn't that bad," She rolled her eyes.

"Are you kidding?? If I ever wanted my own, he's enough to make me cut my connector cords short and delete the possibility.."

She snorted. "of course I'm kidding if I didn't think you'd all kill me I would of disconnected his processor ages ago."

He laughed,"Hey, I fer one, would applaud. I can't speak for the Monkey or the Rhino though."

She blinked a small smile smoothing her otherwise disquieting features she shook her head. "Uh huh," She said. "Sometimes I have a bit of that old worry when it comes to the Rhino."

"What old worry?" he blinked his small black eyes curiously

"I've seen Good Maxmials go Bad," She paused eyeing him. "And Bad Predacons go Good," She hissed softly. "The Rhino's got in him to go bad."

"Rhinox?" he snorted, but she saw an small flicker of fear as he considered this and he wasn't entirely scoffing after seeing what Megatron had turned Rhinox into once. In truth the topic hit far too close to home for his liking and he could see a way to change it without appearing suspicious."Also, I've never seen ANY Pred go what I'd call good..' he added.

"What do you call Dinobot?" She asked eyeing him thoughtfully

"Scalebelly, Chopper Face, Lizard Lips, and a few other choice terms a' endearment I save up fer him.." he teased.

She quirked an eye ridge then shook her head. "Yet, he was a Predacon before here, before now." She looked towards the sky.

"Once a Pred, always a Pred.." he muttered under his breath without even thinking about it.

She glanced back at him. "So there is not even an iota of trust in us then for you is there?" She remarked, referring to her beast mode matching that of the former Predacon as well as many of her mannerisms.

He blinked, then scuffed his feet on the ground,"Well.I..uh..maybe..a little.."

She paused and looked at her. "Oh?" She smirked. "Care to clarify?"

"Not really.." he grinned

She shrugged and turned away again snapping her tail in his general direction.

He jumped,"Okay okay, so, I trust _you_.."

She chuckled. "I knew it, you've gone soft,"

"I have not!" he bristled,"I didn't say I trusted ya MUCH. And I trust him even less!"

"Given the chance he'd probably eat you," She said with a giggle.

"I'd give him indigestion," he huffed, lifting his head. Which was not all he'd like to give the male raptor, other options including a one way trip into the lava pits.

She arched a pebbly black eye ridge. "So true."

He beamed, his fur fluffing out proudly then paused. She was eyeing him oddly and he felt a sudden shudder of disquiet run up his spine. Both raptors tended to be far too intuitive for his liking. It made the bitterness he bore towards Dinobot resurface though he'd spent megacycles that morning trying to play it down and act like his former self in hopes of keeping his secret. "What are you looking at?" he half demanded, his vocalizer shaking a little before he scurried past her into the base. Nightstalker said nothing just stalking in silent and thoughtful. Shifting back to bot mode he moved across the bridge, heading for the hall and the barracks without a word of greeting

The she-raptor entered shortly after him and settled at one of the computers still silent ignoring the very hyper Cheetor or at least trying to, one part of her coniving mind was trying to figure out if she could kill him and stuff him somewhere and never be found out.

Rattrap drew in a shakey breath ,"Get ahold of yerself, 'trap. It's no big deal. No one's ever gonna know..GAH!" He jumped back as he almost walked into Dinobot,"Why the slag are you lurking around like that in the dark halls? I'm gonna put a bell on you!" he threatened, his voice cracking a little in panic

Dinobot glanced at him. "What are you going on about Cheesebreath,"

"Nothing you'd understand, Leatherface.." he tried to push past him

Dinobot whipped his tail around stopping the Rodant. "Something..has your fur in a twist....." He growled clearly enjoying himself.

"Maybe it's your breath,' he shot back. The retort was so weak Dinobot barely acknowledged it. Something had been bothering the rodant for nearly half a stellar cycle and it was not just the impending return of the Aliens responsible for the mystery island and the monolith which had them all slightly on edge.

"No I think..not,"

"Must just be you then,' he replied lamely, actually trying to duck under the raptor's tail. "And watch where you leave yer lunch! I almost stepped in it today!"

Dinobot hissed but let him go shaking his head.

"Like I'm gonna give you ammo to use on me anyway," Rattrap added, making good his escape.

"Indeed," he hissed.

"And you wouldn't understand anyway, no one would so just..stop buggin' me!" he added, clearly so upset he couldn't stop talking even though Dinobot hadn't really put that much pressure on him.

Dinobot paused looking at the Rat silently. "What in the slag are you going on about?" He snarled.

He blinked then snapped his jaw shut, looking down, "Nothing.." he turned and headed to his quarters. Dinobot just blinked looking confused. Rattrap slammed a fist into the door panel, closing it behind him, and collapsed onto his bunk.

Dinobot stalked onto the bridge. "What did you do to the rodant?" He growled.

"Me, I did nothing," Nightstalker snarled closing down what she was looking at.

Cheetor blinked, worried,"He seemed pretty freaked out.."

"And You expect me to understand the ponderings of his little warped rat mind? No clue, no clue...and no idea," She said coldly flexing her her claws as she glared at Cheetor.

***

**PREDACON BASE, DAY**...

Laserbeak wondered the _Darkside's _hall for megacycles, thinking. She might have done so all night if Waspinator hadn't buzzed along. The insect was one of her closest friends so she didn't bother to try and wipe away the tear streaks on her face before turning to face him, forcing a weak smile."Hi, Waspi."

The wasp was in beast mode and easily matched her pace, zipping along at her side. His insistent droning took on a somber note as his multi-faceted eyes took in her despair filled look."Lazer-bot sad?"

She shook her head."Laser-bot confused."

"Can talk to Wazzzpinator. Wazzzpinator not tell, promise." He made the zipped lips motion and she laughed softly. It was rather comical considering he HAD no lips.

"It's Terrorsaur. I don't understand him. He acted like he loved me when I was a Maximal, but now...he seems like he's trying to avoid me all the time. I don't get it. Waspi, you've known him a lot longer than me. Is there someone else..?"

Waspinator shook his head,"Terror-bot not have other female. Terror-bot lovez Lazer-bot, he just scared. Wazzzpinator knowz, Terror-bot told him."

"He...he did?"

"Yes. Terror-bot never have girlfriend-bot before, not know how to act. Thinkz if he let'z himself care for Lazer-bot it will make him less Predacon, or maybe Lazor-bot change her mind."

"I won't! I love him, Waspi. Why else would I have left the Maximals?" At the miffed look on his face she added,"Except to hang out with you much cooler bots, of course."

The wasp grinned,"Wazzzpinator, iz one cool dude, huh?"

"Diffenently." She kissed him on the cheek."So should I talk to him?"

"YES! Dactyl-botz get together? Have little dactyl-botz? Wazzzpinator be uncle then! Wazzzpinator will be good uncle!"

She giggled.

"WASPINATOR! LASERBEAK! Report to the command center for assighments immediately!" Scorponok's voice snapped over the ship's com.

"Back to work," mumbled the female.

***

**MAXIMAL BASE, DUSK...**

"Head's up, fellow bots!" Cheetor called from his place in front of Sentinel's main monitor,"We got a pod coming down it in Tango Sector."Stasis pods had been dropping like rain lately. According to Rhinox's summary from the Axalon records thirteen pods had been launched into space. Counting Blackarachnia, Inferno, Airazor, Tigatron, Laserbeak, and most recently Nightstalker, six had landed, leaving seven unaccounted for. As the Preds currently already outnumbered them they could not afford to let another pod fall into enemy hands.

"Our ground," Optimus stated, nodding pleasure at the knowledge, though it was, like Tigatron's pod had been, a far click north. "I doubt that will stop the Predacons from trying though."

"Let them come," Dinobot hissed eagerly, his tongue fluttering with excitement before he transformed and slashed his blade in the air before him. "My sword aches to taste their mech blood, as do I for a good battle."

"Yeah, we all know how you Preds love ta slag each other," Rattrap sneered. The rat was being difficult again. Normally he was a pain, but by now Dinobot was seriously wondering if the rodent Maximal had determined to drive him from their ranks. He turned his attention to their leader instead.

"We should hurry. Perhaps the Predacons have not discovered it yet, but they will soon. Already they out number us and Megatron is no fool. He will not spurn the opportunity to turn the odds further against us."

"Well, you would know, wouldn't ya, Scalebelly? You were his little turncoat lieutenant, after all," the rat muttered.

This time Dinobothad to restrain himself from attacking the rodent, something he barely managed. Optimus glared at the rodent."Rattrap, what's gotten into you? Dinobot is as loyal to our cause as any Maximal here. He's proved that countless times!"

"Sez _you! _Once a Pred, always a Pred." Abruptly turning his back to the others, Rattrap strode down the corridor, not sparing a glance back at the Maximals' shocked faces.

"I'll talk to him," Optimus said simply.

"No," Dinobot growled, reigning in his temper in an attempt to be civil. Now was not the time for inner faction conflicts to take president. "If I have done something to offend him, I will..." he nearly choked on the word.."apologize."

Optimus's brow raised in surprize but he nodded."That can wait until we've recovered the new Maximal. Cheetor, go get Rattrap. We're on our way to Tango Sector. Catch up as soon as possible. Come on, bots, let's move it!"

Optimus left the room, followed by Nightstalker, Tigatron, Airazor, and finally Dinobot, who cast one last glance in the direction Rattrap had disappeared before shaking his head in disgust. What in the Inferno was going on?

"Stupid, slag-spoutin', reptile..."

"Yo, Rattrap! Wait up!" Cheetor dashed down the hall and skidded to a halt next to the other. "What's up with you, R.T.? Why are you acting that way towards Dinobot?"

"Hey, he's a Pred! That's all da reason I need," he spat defensively.

"D.B.'s no Pred. He's a Maximal now, remember?"

Rattrap chuckled sarcastically, "Don't let appearances deceive ya, Kid. Like I told da Big Banana, once a Pred, _always_a Pred. Someone…real special ta me told me that once, an' I didn't believe um until it was too late." The anger faded from him and he turned away,"I trusted a Pred once, treated him like the friend he pretended ta be...and he turned around and killed my brother. I ain't never making that mistake again. Never."

Cheetor was shocked. Naturally he'd known that Rattrap had had a family, but he'd never guessed he'd been so close to them. No wonder he was bitter.

"But Dinobot isn't the Pred that killed your brother, is he?"

"Nah, I slagged that Pred, caved in his head on da spot, but don't ya get it? They're all the same!"

"That's prejudice. Dinobot's our friend. He's _your _friend. He wouldn't ever betray us and you know it."

The rat snorted. He was letting his past carry him away again, and that was dangerous, Behaving this way only drew attention to himself and he had to focus on that, no matter how strongly he felt about Predacons.

"Just give him a chance. Anyway, we gotta go. Big Bot wants us in Tango Sector, like, yesterday."

"Yeah, coming."

***

**PREDACON BASE, NIGHT...**

Com Duty! Next to monitor duty this was the most boring task she could imagine. Inferno and Terrorsaur were on patrol tonight, so at least she could exchange random comments with them when they checked in.

"How's it look out there, Inferno?"

"All is well, fellow drone."

"Oh, yeah, if you consider freezing our skid plates off well." Terrorsaur put in.

Suddenly an alarm went off in the back ground and Waspinator shot up from his station at the monitors. He gesticulated widely in his excitement, his wings a buzzing blur before he finally calmed himself enough to speak. If she hadn't know something serious was occuring it would have almost been hilarious. "Wazzzpinator found stasis pod! Iz falling in Tango Sector!"

"Terrorsaur, Inferno! Stasis pod detected falling in Tango Sector! Waspinator, what are the aproximate cooridinates?"

"4,8,12."

"You hear that, guys?"

"Loud and clear, Laser. We'll be back to base in half a megacycle with the newest Predacon," Terrorsaur replied smugly. He always enjoyed the chance to show off. Especially for her.

"Terror, be careful, okay?" she murmured.

Their was an uncomfortable pause then he replied,"Promise, Laser. Don't worry, I'll come back to you." Showing such sentiment infront of the others was a considerable step for him and it made her spark blaze with happiness and swell with love. And he loved her too, he hadn't said it yet, but he'd told Waspinator so. She couldn't imagine being happier.

Tango Sector was far to the North and they maintained com silence for the majority of the time until he reported "Closing in on the pod. No sign of Maximals yet...." he yelped and the sound of weapon fire followed. "I take that back, engaging Airazor and Tigatron."

"YAAAAHHH! For the Royalty!" Inferno yelled in the background deafeningly.

The wasp and the she-dactyl exchanged a worried glance. They knew the tiger and his female hawk were tough, maybe too much so for their friends.

"Oh Primus, oh please, please, please..." she whispered as the sounds coming from the com grew more violent.

"Arrrgh! I'm hit!"

Laserbeak's fluid pump froze in fear and she screamed,"TERRORSAUR!! Terrorsaur, reply, slag it! You have to!"

"I..I"m okay," a weak voice answered."But Optimus and the others have joined the fight. We need…reenforcements."

She whirled to Waspinator, alive with urgency. "Get Scourge, Scorponok, and the spiders and get out there!"

"Wazzzpinator go!" He turned and zipped out the door. Shaking badly, she sunk back down into the chair and gripped the arms for support. "They're on their way."

"Good. It's getting rough out here. Inferno! The two cats took out my cover fire. I'm on my own out here!"

"Terrorsaur, retreat! Break off before you get hurt any worse, please!" She begged, nearly sobbing.

"That sounds like a really great idea, but I'm kinda surrounded."

"Then I'm coming out there to help."

"_What?!_You can't! Megatron will freak if you desert your post. You can't leave the base unguarded, no matter what."

"Slag that! I don't give a care about the base. If I loose you I'll die. I won't sacrifice you, Terror."

She ran out of the control room while a frantic male dactyl shrieked over the com, "Laserbeak, don't you dare come out here! It's way too dangerous! Laser? LASER? Slag it!"

***

Terrorsaur turned his comlink off in disgust. Blast that female! He'd told her not to come! If she got caught in the cross fire he'd kill himself. All things considered though, the fight would be over long before she arrived. He was grotestuely outnumbered and outgunned. Then new she-raptor glitch had nearly taken his head off with her optic lasers, and having lost his head more than once in the past it was not an experience Terrorsaur salivated over repeating.

~ I should have deserted the pod to the Maximals when I had the chance.~

"Inferno!" he kicked the unconscious ant-bot at his feet. The kid cheetah had done a number on him with that gutgun of his. "Come on, wake up, you stupid ant, pleeeease?" No response. "Well, that's just Prime," he sneered, ducking down behind a rock for cover as the Maximals opened fire again.

He was a slagging sitting duck! Er..dactyl, and it was only a matter of time before that blasted Airazor swooped over to corner him between two sets of enemy fire.

There was only one option at this point and it was one a commonly labeled coward loathed to take. The offensive. He was Much more maneuverable and less likely to get shot down in the air than on the ground. With a screech he engaged his engines and took off, firing his shoulder cannons unfalteringly if not entirely accurately. He landed a couple good hits on the tiger and the cheetah before he was dodging red and green optic lasers which seemed to fill the sky.

Then it happened. Just as he'd predicted while he was occupied with the other Maximals Airazor got the drop on him, or more accurately, dropped him with a barrage of her nasty little wrist arrows. As his form tumbled head over heels to the icy ground, through sparse brush trailing a line of smoke from his broken body he swore if he ever had the chance again he'd hack both the femme's arms off at the shoulder joints! Trust his luck to hit the only tree of decent size in the area ata painful velocity. He sunk down to the ground, his optics cracked and sparking. Footsteps alerted him to Rattrap's presence clicks before the Maximal put the cold end of his plasma pistol to the Predacon's head.

Then, amazingly, he heard a familiar buzzing and turned to see Waspinator and Laserbeak coming in at top speed through his flickering, multifaceted optics.

"Wazzzpinator, TERRORIZE!!"

"Laserbeak, TERRORIZE!"

One good solid blast from Laserbeak's shoulder cannons sent a scorched and battered rattrap hurtling away fro cover as the pair shot at the Maximals, driving them back a bit before taking shelter with Terrorsaur.

"I told you not to come," he snapped at Laserbeak while hugging her close.

She held his head in both hands, taking in the damage."I'm rebellious, so sue me. Besides, the arachnids won't be here for another four cycles. You need both Waspinator _and _me to cover you while you reprogram the pod." She pressed a green Predacon behavior chip into his palm and he smirked**.**

"Yer something else, you know that?"

"Tell me about it later. Upsy-daisy, Inferno." She helped the big fire ant to stand. He blinked his optics off and on rapidly. Like Terrorsaur's optics, one was shattered and instead of seeing one of the female he saw several in a variety of sizes and angles.

"Laserbeak? What are you doing here?"

"Let's just say I'm serving the colony. Let's kick some butt!"

Waspinator, Inferno, and she charged the startled Maximals, firing wildly in all directions (typical Inferno style). The ant exchanged shots with Optimus and Tigatron while Waspinator and Laser strafed Dinobot, Nightstalker, Rattrap, and Cheetor from the air. Without warning Airazor tackled Laserbeak and sent her spiraling toward the ground. She managed to catch herself mid tumble, a feint she accredited to megacycles of training with her fellow flyers, and turned to face her former comrade. "Sneaking up on an opponent? Not very sporting , Raze."

"Since when do Predacons care about fair play?"

With a screech Laserbeak hurled herself at the other female and they grappled in the air, punching, clawing, and hissing threats. If Terrorsaur hadn't been so preoccupied with getting to the pod he might have paused longer to admire the scene. It was kind of a turn on, seeing his creation take on his most hated foe. He cursed as he hurried to type in the correct codes in the stasis pod's console. Where in the Pit was Tarantulas when he needed him?

"_Programming accepted, scanning for beast mode,_"the computer reported. He sighed in relief.

"That's done. Now I just have to.."

Airazor kicked Laserbeak away, firing a dozen arrows into her. The she-dactyl hit the ground, but struggled to her feet, ready to fight back. Airazor aimed to take another shot but Terrorsaur blasted her with his shoulder cannons. Despite his condition the two old enemies faced off, both eager to draw mech fluid from the other even to the point of deactivation. He tested his jets and found them still useable, even if they sputtered and spewed smoke. Encouraged, he once more took to the air.

Laser started to take off to aid her love when something sliced through her knee. She cried out in pain and fell. Dinobot stood over her, his sword dipping mech-blood. He paused to consider if dispatching the female was dishonorable or not.

"Dinobot, no," she choked out weakly, optics wide with fear.

"Nitrofur, MAXIMIXE!!!" a male voice snapped.

"What? NO!" Terrorsaur whirled mid attack and looked at the artic wolf which had blended in so cleanly with the snow at this point he'd been all but inivible transformered into a medium sized black, orange, and silver Maximal. "I reprogrammed you!!"

"Actually" The new Maximal wagged a finger in a disapproving matter, "You TRIED to reprogram and empty pod. Not so quick on the uptake are you?" He shrugged then produced a number of small marble sized plasma balls of energy which he hauled at the Predacons, resulting in a concussive impact explosion.

"Whoa!" Rattrap cried out as he came up besideDinobot. "What the slag is _that_?"

"Apparently, a Maximal," the raptor hissed, slightly impressed.

"I like dis guy already."

The feeling was far from mutual as far as the Preds were concerned. Even the zealous Inferno was considering it was time to fall back, which was easier said than done. Though currently the Maximals, true to their nature, seemed more interested in their new comrade than annihilating their enemy.

Like the wounded rejects they currently were, the Predacons individually fell back, trying to vanish one by one into the snowy distance to regroup.

"Hey," Cheetor said, noticing the absence of the enemy,"They're getting away!"

Optimus sighed. Though on this planet he was a battle commander, battle was not his preferred option. Though looking over the eager and triumphant young faces of his recruits he had little doubt they would insist continuing the fight.

Dinobot's turned to their commander. "This battle is won. Perhaps instead of pursuing we should fall back and regroup for another day. Following and strafing lesser enemies that are outmatched and outnumber is less than honorable."

The Maximal leader blinked, having never exspected that suggestion from the raptor, who usually was out for a fight to the death, but nodded. "Maximals, fall back to base!"

Cheetor shrugged easily enough and beastmoded, falling into step with Tigatron and the new maximal, conversing eagerly as Airazor hovered over head. Dinobot grunted and stalked along behind Rattrap and Nightstalker but the rodent shot the velociraptor such a cold glare

"Goin' soft er what? "e all woulda been off if you'd never left the Preds, Scalebelly. We coulda finished them off tonight."

Dinobot had had just sbout enough. "Listen you little…"

"Stop it,"Nigthstalker injected, annoyed with them both,"We won, okay? Just leave it at that and stop acting like two overgrown sparklings. It's getting old really fast."

In light of the female's disapproval both the raptor and rat fell silent but not without exchanging a few cooler than ice looks on the long trek back to the Axalon.

"I don't believe it!" Terrorsaur gasped, "They..They're retreating!" His relief was almost palable but in response his injuried comrades only groaned in pain as the spiders arrived.

"What happened to YOU? You look like you were all dumped in a trash compactor,"Blackarachnia sneered with obvious disdain.

"You are just in time to share in our glorious victory!" Inferno informed them,"The Royalty will be most pleased. We have obtained a new member for the colony."

"Inferno..Inferno..we lost," Terrorsaur interrupted, annoyed at the reminded, "The pod wasn't reprogrammed in time, or didn't you notice that when he attacked us??" The damaged dactyl shook his head in disgust. Since the pod had technically been his responsibly it would have been more accurate to state HE had not reprogrammed the pod in time, but Terrorsaur was taking no more responsibility for this disaster than he had to. He already knew they were in for a long and painfully abusive lecture when they returned to empty-handed.

While Waspinator and Inferno raved to the arachnids about their grand battle. Embelishign substaintially to make up for their minor parts in it, Terrorsaur sought out Laserbeak. He found her leaning against a massive bolder for support as she gritted her teeth in pain.

"You're hurt!"

"It...it's nothing." she insisted, managing a shaky smile, and taking a step only to cry out in agony, nearly falling but he lunged forward and caught her quickly."Okay, so it's bad," she admitted, then realized the position they were in, his arms around her waist, hers around his neck. She wondered what he'd do if she closed the distance and kissed him.

Terrorsaur was thinking the same thing, but at the last second he glanced down and blushed, ending the moment.

Laserbeak's leg below her knee was barely holding on by three sparking wires. She couldn't walk or take off and it would be too painful to transform.

Wordlessly he swooped her off the and held her close in his arms, ignoring the protest of his internal systems from his own injuries, which weren't exactly superficial, "I'll carry you back to base."

"It's too far, Terror," she whispered in objection, but snuggled more tightly into his embrace.

"Nah, you're light as a feather," he teased, marveling at how fragile she felt.

She sighed happily and rested her head against the smooth hardness of his strong chest. The pain in her leg was already receding as they started back to the _Darkside._

_***_**Author's Note: Originally the pod was supposed to be another Predacon but that made Terrorsaur seem a LITTLE too competent. For those of you who enjoy the action, I beefed this chap up quite a bit and I hope you enjoy it. Surprised by Rattrap's dark secret? it's always made sense to me but I will further iliterate on it in the next and final chapter of this fic. Not my best work but by far better than the original. Oh geez, I almost forgot, Nightstalker is NOT mine! She belongs to a close friend, Amaroqwolf, who roleplayed out that scene with me and I recently threw it in because I liked it a lot. **


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